Dependance
by taters4u
Summary: Now that Sonic has escaped Amy's psychotic house of horrors, will he be able to overcome his demons and addictions and return to his family and friends? Or will his addiction become the one enemy he can't beat?
1. Life After Amy

Dependence

Chapter One: Life after Amy

Welcome to the second installment of Misery. This one is from my own brain this time, and not from something someone else has already done. Will it be good? Who knows? Maybe I can pull it off. Or I might fail horribly. I don't know, I'm not a Doctor. Also, I can't think of a good title for this one, so I'm calling it Dependence. I'm not good at coming up with names for stories. Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters Sonic, Sally, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow or any others I might throw in later on. Sega owns them. Although it would be cool if I did.

WARNING: Some parts of the story will contain course language and drug use. Yes, it's that kind of story.

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"Sonic." He heard a voice call out to him. Sonic awoke to find himself back in Amy's 'Funhouse'. Sonic looked up to see Amy standing over his bed, holding a knife in one hand.

"I killed..." Was all he was able to say before Amy plunged the knife deep into his chest, twisting it to ensure maximum damage.

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Sonic sat straight up, letting out a loud scream. "It was all a dream." He said to himself quietly, not realizing he had woken Sally up. She turned over to find Sonic covered in sweat and shaking from fear, something she had never seen him do until after he had escaped from his prison.

"What was it this time?" She asked. Amy had become a psychiatrist for him in a way. She was the only one that was able to get Sonic to reveal what had actually happened during his time with Amy. Although he did not want to tell her what had actually happened, Sonic slowly opened up to her.

"I had another dream about her." Sonic told Sally. "This time, she was standing over me calling out my name, then when I woke up, she stabbed me." Sonic took a deep breath, brought his knees up to his chest, and placed his head in his hands, trying to shake the dream out of his mind. Sally leaned over and kissed him gently. They broke after what seemed like several hours, but only lasted for less than ten seconds. No matter what he was going through, the way Sally kissed him always made his problems seem small.

The familiar smile had returned to his face. Sonic took his love into his arms, covering her entire body with passionate kisses. Sally stopped him long enough to get one question out. "You wanna do it?" She asked, pulling back the blankets, revealing her nearly naked body that was barely covered by the red, almost blood colored silk lingerie she was wearing. Sonic took her nearly naked body in with hungry eyes. They embraced, making love until the wee hours of the morning. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonic waited until Sally had fallen asleep before getting out of bed. It was nearly 6:00 in the morning. He always slept until 8:00 in the morning, sometimes oversleeping until almost 10:00. But since his time in the 'Funhouse', he began to wake around this time of day due to Amy bringing in his breakfast.

Sonic went into the bathroom and locked the door, making sure it was firmly locked. He went over to the sink and opened one of the drawers on the counter. There were two drawers. One for him, and one for Sally. She had wanted a place where they could put there stuff they used in the bathroom instead of it piling up on the counter, reducing the clutter. Sonic opened the drawer and moved the items around inside until he found what he was looking for. He pulled a small box out of the back of the drawer and opened it up.

Inside were several dozen capsules of Phenotol. He had become addicted to the painkillers due to his time in the 'Funhouse". He had left the hospital almost a month and a half ago. His injuries had fully healed with no damaging effects. His doctors were surprised at his recovery rate. Sonic was scheduled to be in physical therapy for three months but since he had an extremely fast healing rate, he recovered in half the time.

Sonic grabbed a glass of water and three of the capsules and popped them in his mouth, swallowing them quickly. Sonic knew he was addicted to them. When he was in the hospital recovering, his doctor had been giving him the painkillers every four hours. It was at this point Sonic began to develop the need for his 'friends' as he called them. He began to skip doses in the hospital, hiding them anywhere he could find a place to hide them. Inside his pillow, in the mattress. Anywhere he could fit them. It even came to the point that Sonic began to fake having pain. His doctor gave him a prescription for five refills of Phenotol. He had already gone through three of them. Sonic knew that soon he would run out of ways to get his daily fix and he began to toy with the idea of getting it some other way, but he never acted on them. He knew what serious drugs could and would do to a person. Standing there, looking at his reflection in the mirror, the pills threw him into euphoria. But, every once in a great while, his 'friends' didn't give him the pleasure he had come to expect from them. "You know you're gonna run out of your 'friends' soon, ya know." Sonic looked at the mirror in front of him and watched as his own reflection was talking to him!

"What are you gonna do when you run out, huh? Go to the doctor and ask for some more? He'll never buy it. You know that." His mirror self said.

Sonic closed his eyes quickly, shutting them tight. He opened them a second later and saw himself looking at his own reflection and nothing else. "What the hell is going on with me?" He asked himself. "Maybe I'll feel better if I take a shower." He said, taking off the underwear he was wearing and turning on the water, letting it run over his body.

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Sonic got out of the shower and toweled off. Going out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, he changed into some clean clothes. He looked at the clock. It was almost 8:00. "What? How could I have been in there that long?" Sonic wondered. Standing there wondering how time had passed so quickly, he barely heard Sally call to him. "Sonic, breakfast is ready." The bewildered look on Sonic's face due to his attempting to figure out what had caused him to loose track of time had been replaced with a smile. Sonic rushed into the small dining room and sat down at the table. It only took a nanosecond for him to reach the table due to the size of their house. It was not a big house by any means. A nice little three bedroom house with one bath. A nice size kitchen with a breakfast bar that was used only when they had a party, which happened quite a lot. The living room was big enough to accommodate a desk, a couch and a TV. There bedroom wasn't that bad either. Big enough to hold a bed and a TV and a small table to hold pictures of their friends and family. The bathroom was just down the hall from Sonic and Sally's room, making it easy to get to. One of the three bedrooms had been converted into a storage room, and the other one was strictly a guest bedroom.

Sonic sat at the table not touching any of the food. "Aren't you gonna eat?" Sally asked him, drawing Sonic out of his daydream like state. "Wha...?" He said, barely hearing Sally.

"You're food's gonna get cold." She said, nudging his elbow. "Are you all right? You don't seem like yourself." Sally said, sensing something was wrong with him, but not quite sure what it was.

"I'm fine. I just can't stop thinking about those dreams I keep having about Amy, you know?" Sonic said.

"You've been having those since you were in the hospital, haven't you." She said.

"Yeah. I wish they would stop." Sonic said. Sonic finished eating and got up from the table, heading for the bathroom. Locking the door once again, he opened his drawer and pulled out the box that contained his 'friends'. He opened the box and stared at them for several minutes, debating with himself.

'**You know you want to take a few more. You need them.'** The voice in his head taunted him.

'_I don't need them.' _Sonic told the voice in his head.

'**Yes you do! You need them now! Take some! You know you want to. You're a drug addict. A fucking drug addict that needs his fix!'** The voice in his head screamed.

'_No I don't!' Sonic yelled back in his head as he went to the toilet, took out the prescription his doctor wrote for him, tore it up and threw it into the water, along with every single pill he had in the box, flushing it and watching his 'friends' disappear forever. He stood fixed in his position in front of the toilet for a minute before placing the box back into the drawer. He walked out of the bathroom and opened the closet to grab his jacket. _

"_Going out for your morning run?" Sally asked him as he began to walk out the door. _

"_Yup." He said as he turned to Sally. "You know, I think today's going to be a good day." He said._

_Sally looked at him. She hadn't seen him this happy since he finished the last Misery novel. After he came home, he decided to stop writing the Misery novels. A decision that had not been easy for him to make. _

"_I love you Sonic." She said, running over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck._

"_I love you too." He said as he worked his way free from Sally's embrace and shot down the street like a bullet. _

"_I'm glad he's back to himself again." Sally said before going back into the house._

_End of One._

_Thanks for reading! R&R if you feel like it. _


	2. Sonic's Decision

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Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow, Rogue or Scourge, SEGA does. And yes, all the characters listed will be in this one. Just haven't figured out when. And I don't know why everything is underlined. I tried to upload it again but it's still the same. I'm tired and don't feel like trying to figure out why so please try to ignore it. Hope you can still enjoy reading it like it is.

_Chapter Two: Sonic's Decision._

"_This is just what I needed." Sonic said out loud. He had been running for about an hour to no particular place. Just running. He came upon a small stream and stopped to take a drink. Leaning down to the water's edge, he jumped back in horror at what he saw. His reflection in the water was not his own. Its fur was not blue, but black, and unkempt. It's eyes were not green like Sonic's. They were a dark shade of red. Sonic fell backward at what he had just seen. Cautiously, he made his way back to the water's edge. He looked into the water, but whatever it was disappeared. _

"_What the hell was that?" Sonic said out loud. He stood up and ran back home, trying not to think about what he saw._

_After an hour of solid running, he made it back home. He walked up the steps and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Taking his key out of his pocket, he stuck it in the lock and turned it and opened the door. Sonic stood in the doorway for a few seconds, shaking his head, attempting to get the image of the black hedgehog out of his mind. He took a deep breath and exhaled, shutting the door and walking over to the couch and turning on the TV. Sonic tried to find something, anything on TV that would take his mind off what had happened earlier. Not really finding anything on TV to keep him interested, he turned off the TV and lay down on the couch, suddenly growing very tired. He shut his eyes and fell asleep._

_He awoke to find Sally sitting beside him watching TV. "Hey, you're awake." She said, a smile on her face. _

"_Sorry about that. I was tired when I came back from my run." He said, getting up to a sitting position. "Did you go somewhere while I was gone?" He asked._

"_Yeah, I had a couple of errands to do. I didn't think you were gonna be back here so soon. You usually don't come back so soon. Is something wrong?" She asked. Sally knew something was bothering him, but she couldn't figure out what it was. _

_Sonic flashed his patented 'Of course I'm ok. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog' grin in her direction. "I'm fine. You worry too much babe." He said, turning his attention toward the TV. Sally turned toward him and kissed him on the cheek. "You know that whatever problems you're having, I'm always here to listen." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her body. _

"_I know." Sonic said._

_A few hours later:_

"_That was the best meal I think you've ever made." Sonic said, releasing a small burp of satisfaction. He leaned back in his chair and unbuttoned his pants to release some of the pressure from his full stomach._

"_One day you're gonna eat too much and explode Sonic." Sally said playfully as she cleared the table. Sonic got up out of his chair and walked into the kitchen where Sally was washing the dishes. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck, covering her with small kisses._

_Sally jumped slightly by the sneak attack by Sonic. "Ooh, Sonic! You know that I don't like it when you do that!" She said, turning around and playfully slapping him on the shoulder. _

_Sonic laughed lightly at her. He picked up Sally in his arms and began to carry her into the bedroom. "Sonic, I have to finish washing the dishes." Sally protested. Sonic looked at her. _

"_They can wait." Sonic said as he entered the bedroom, placing her on the bed and positioning his body on top of her. He stared into her eyes and planted a long kiss on her. After they broke, Sally spoke._

"_What's gotten into you Sonic?" Sally asked, wondering what had gotten into him. As far as she could remember, Sonic had never been as romantic than he was right now._

"_You." Sonic said, a huge smile forming on his face as he set her on the bed and proceeded to make love for the second time that day._

_Two days later:_

"_Got the house to myself for the whole day." Sonic said to himself as he laid on the bed staring at the ceiling. Sally had left early that morning to run her usual errands and wouldn't be back until around five o'clock. But due to Sonic, she hadn't been able to do anything. He got up and walked over to the closet to change out of his pajamas. "Wait," He said, stopping just before reaching the closet. "It's just me. I don't have to change into anything. Sally's not here." He said, turning around and walking out the door. He headed to the bathroom and did his usual morning routine. Using the toilet, taking a shower and whatnot. Toweling himself off, he put the clothes he was wearing when he got out of bed, he walked out of the bathroom. "Guess I'll have to make something to eat for breakfast." Sonic said. His cooking skills were limited due to him hardly ever having to cook for himself. The only thing he had ever learned to make were Chilidogs. All his life, he never had to do much cooking for himself. There had always been someone else to do it for him, be it the orphanage, Tails, Sally or whoever he was staying with at the time._

_He walked into the kitchen, but never made it in completely. All of a sudden, he found himself on the floor. "AHHHHHH!" Sonic screamed. His entire body felt like it was on fire, especially in his hands and legs. He crawled around on the floor, his eyes clinched tightly in pain. __WHAT THE HELL?! _Sonic screamed in his head, the burning continuing its rampage throughout his body. After a few minutes of feeling like he had been thrown into a bonfire, chills suddenly overcame him. 

Sonic lay on the linoleum of the kitchen floor, shivering violently, his teeth clacking together like keys on a keyboard. A massive headache had suddenly announced its appearance causing Sonic to howl in pain again. "OH GOD, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!". The cold fit lasted only a few minutes, cycling between burning and chills. Sonic somehow managed to make his way into the living room and onto the couch. Weakly pulling himself onto it, he grabbed a small throw pillow and placed it under his head and shut his eyes, waiting for the hot and cold sensations to pass.

The burning had finally stopped, but the chills were still there. He rolled over on his side. "What the hell is happening to me?" Sonic said silently, his teeth still clacking due to the chills in his body until he blacked out.

He awoke several hours later, still having chills, but not as severe as before. Rising to a sitting position, he tried to shake the cobwebs from his head. Suddenly, he felt what little food that was in his stomach begin to come up. Running to the bathroom, he flung open the door and made it to the toilet just as he threw up. Sonic threw up until he couldn't throw up anything else, dry heaving for several minutes. After it had passed, he grabbed a towel and wiped his mouth to clear the vomit off his mouth. Flushing the toilet and standing up, he started to walk out the bathroom when he stopped at the sink. He opened the drawer and pulled the box out that he had hidden. He opened it up and looked inside. Nothing. He started to put the box back into the drawer and noticed something small and orange at the very back of the drawer. It was a few capsules of Phenotol. Four to be exact. "What the hell? I thought I threw all of them out." He said. Reaching into the back of the drawer, he grabbed all four and held them in his hand. At that moment he began to hallucinate due to not putting any Phenotol in his system for the last two days. In the mirror, the hedgehog that he seen in the stream appeared.

_Take 'em. You need 'em. _The black hedgehog said to him. 

"No_. _I need to throw them away_. _I don't want them._" _Sonicsaid.

_Yes. Take 'em. You know they'll make the pain stop. _Black said.

"No, I need to get help." Sonic said.

_Oh, what are you gonna do, go to Sally? You're friends? They'll turn their back on you. No one will want to associate with a pathetic, worthless drug addict like you. _Black said to Sonic.

"They won't turn there back on me_. _There not like that_. _They're my friends.They care about me_. _They'll help me despite of what's wrong of me_." _Sonic said.

_Oh please. What will they think when they find out the world's greatest hero, Sonic the hedgehog is a drug addict? Especially Sally. She'll leave you faster than you can run. _Bad said.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled as loud as he could, punching the mirror in front of him as hard as he could, tiny shards of glass sticking out of his hand. Sonic picked up one of the pills in his hand and started to place it in his mouth, but stopped before he could place it in his mouth. _Think of what you're doing. _He thought. _Don't do it. Tell Sally what you're going through. _He thought. The burning started again and before Sonic knew what he was doing, he tossed two of the pills into his mouth and swallowed. 

A few minutes had passed before he began to feel the soothing effects of the capsules begin to work inside him. The pain he had been experiencing had disappeared completely, a wave of euphoria washed over him. It was more powerful than he had ever experienced before. He picked the glass out of his hand and went out of the bathroom. Sonic slowly wandered around the house, riding the high he was experiencing. Entering the living room, he noticed the clock read 4:00. Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. _Oh god! Sally's gonna be home in an hour. If she finds me like this, she'll know something's wrong with me. Sonic's mind raced in thought, trying to think of what to do next, going through every person he knew, but came to the same conclusion every time. He had convinced himself that everyone would turn there back on him, but one name kept sticking in his head: Scourge. He didn't even want to think about him, but the more he thought, the more he began to realize that Scourge might be his only option. Scourge lived in Metalopolis, the seediest, dirtiest part of Mobius there is. Home to the lowest of the low. A place where crime and prostitution ran rampant and the police were powerless. And the best place to feed a drug habit. _

_Blue knew what he had to do, even though he didn't want to. He stood up and walked over to a small table by the door. He opened the door on the front of the table and pulled out a notepad and a pencil. He began writing a farewell note to Sally._

_Dear Sally,_

_I must leave you. I cannot explain to you why in this note, but my decision to leave is not you're fault. It is mine. You've been there for me through the best and worst times of my life and I will always love you for that. I want you to know that you will be in my heart wherever I am._

_I love you,_

_Sonic_

_He sat the note on the table. Walking into the bedroom, he grabbed a small suitcase and grabbed what clothes he could fit into it as well as money he had been able to put back for an emergency. He closed the suitcase and picked it up and walked out of the bedroom, through the living room and out the door and locking it behind him. Blue stopped just before he reached the edge of the road. He looked at the house he and Sally had shared over the years one last time, not knowing if he would ever return. "Goodbye Sally." Blue said, speeding off like a bullet and heading straight to Metalopolis._

"_Made it home right at five, just like I predicted." Sally said to herself as she pulled into the driveway. She shut off the engine and opened the door, stepping out and walking up to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it. It didn't open. "Huh. It shouldn't be locked with Sonic here." She said to herself. Sally pulled her keys from her pocket and put the one for the front door in the lock. She opened the door and walked in. _

"_Sonic, I'm home!" She called out. Nothing. "He's probably in the bathroom." She said. She made her way to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Sonic, you in there?" She said. Nothing. "Maybe he's in the bedroom taking a nap. She walked over to the bedroom door and opened it slowly. No one. "Where is he?" She said to herself. It wasn't like him not to be here when she came back from somewhere. Sally walked back into the living room and seen the note he left for her before he left. She walked over and picked it up. As she read it, tears began to well up in her eyes. Suddenly she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Running to the bathroom, she knelt in front of the toilet and threw up. Cleaning what vomit remained on her mouth, she flushed the toilet and started to walk out of the bathroom, but stopped. She turned her head and saw the mirror Sonic had broken earlier. "Something was wrong with him." She said, tears welling up in her eyes again. She walked out of the bathroom, crying heavily before she could reach the couch and falling onto the floor. She crawled onto the couch and cried herself to sleep._

_It was only a day's run for Sonic to Metalopolis. He wanted to try to make it as far as he could before night fell. Sonic reached into his pocket and pulled out what little Phenotol he had left. Two capsules. They would have to do him until he got to Scourge's place until he could get some more. Sonic was able to run for one more hour before it was too dark to run anymore. He stopped and looked around. Seeing a small cave that was just big enough for him to sleep in, he made his way over to it and settled down for the night. Opening his suitcase and pulling out the blanket he packed before he left, he placed it over him and thought about Sally until he fell asleep. Sonic dreamed he had never left. That he was still at home. Sally discovered his little secret. Suddenly, Sally, Knuckles, Tails, Rogue and Shadow were standing around him, staring at him. Sally was the first to speak._

"_You fucking loser, why would I want to be with a drug addict?" She said coldly._

_Knuckles didn't say a word, punching Sonic as hard as he could in the stomach, causing Sonic yell in pain and fall to the floor. Tails walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. "I always looked up to you." Tails said, tears in his eyes. "You were like a brother to me, and you go and do this? You're pathetic." He said, kicking Sonic in a sensitive area. Sonic yelled in pain again, clutching his groin, trying to make the pain stop._

"_You're worthless." Rogue said, kicking Sonic in the ribs. _

_Shadow walked up to him and picked Sonic up off the floor. Holding him by the throat, he looked into Sonic's eyes with rage. "Some hero you are, faker." Shadow said, tightening his grip on Sonic's throat, choking the breath right out of Sonic. Shadow released his grip on Sonic just before he passed out from lack of oxygen, letting him fall to the floor._

_Sonic tried to pick himself off the floor but was too weak to do so. He lay there on the floor as Sally walked over to him. "Pick him up." She said to Knuckles. The red echidna did as he was told, picking up Sonic off the floor and holding him up. "Sally, I'm sorry." Sonic said weakly. _

"_Yeah you're sorry." Sally replied, slapping him across the face as hard as she could. Knuckles released his hold on Sonic, letting him fall back down on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Not from the comments made by everyone, not from the punches and kicks he took from them, but from the slap Sally gave him. That hurt the most. _

_Everyone turned around and walked out the door except for Sally. She stopped just inside the doorway and turned toward him. "I never want to see you again. Don't come back here!" She said, slamming the door and walking out. "Sally, wait!" Sonic yelled, but it was too late. She was gone._

_Sonic awoke suddenly wiping away the tears that had fell from his face during his slumber. It was morning. He looked around, not realizing at first where he was, but slowly remembering where he was. He pulled the blanket off of him and placed it back in his suitcase. From what he guessed, it was around eight in the morning, sun shining brightly, various animals that inhabited the forest stirring from there nightly slumber. Blue knew what would be coming soon and reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the Phenotol capsules out of his pocket. He popped it in his mouth and swallowed it dry. It stuck in his throat for a second due to lack of water, but eventually went down. _

"_Well, guess I better get going. If I don't get there by tonight, I'm fucked." Sonic said, grabbing his suitcase and speeding toward Metalopolis._

_Sally awoke the next morning, still able to feel where the tears had fallen down her cheeks. She sat up on the couch and grabbed the note Sonic had left for her. She stared at it for a while. "Why? Why did you leave me? What's happening to you?" She thought out loud. She broke down crying again until she couldn't cry no more. She grabbed her phone and called the first person that came to her mind._

_End of two._

_Ending note: Well, here's two. Hope you enjoy it. R&R please. By the way, whenever I review a story, I'm usually tired when I do it, and sometimes I put stuff in it that is stupid and I don't realize it until right after I send it. So, if anyone gets a review from me and it has something in it that makes you think, "What the hell?",_

_just ignore it. That's something else I need to work on. Oh, and could someone tell me if I got the city where Scourge lives right? I'm not too clear on him. Thanks for reading._


	3. Scourge

Chapter 3: Scourge

Disclaimer: Me no own anyone in story.

"You better pick up." Sally said as she waited for Tails to pick up the phone. Tails was the first person she thought to call since Tails was closest to Sonic than any one else, even herself. It was almost as if they were brothers than friends. It made Sally a little jealous when they first started going out that Sonic spent more time with Tails than he did with her. But eventually, she accepted how close the two were.

"Don't hang up!" Tails exclaimed, running as fast as he could to get to the phone in time. "Hello?" He spoke into the receiver.

"Tails? It's Sally." She said from her end, trying not to have another breakdown again.

"Hey Sally! What's up?" Tails asked in a cheery voice.

Sally hesitated for a moment, trying to regain her composure. "Um, can you come over?" She asked. She didn't want to tell him over the phone since she believed that certain things were best said in person. This happened to be one of those times.

"Sure I can. What's wrong?" He asked, knowing it was important.

"Can you come over?" She asked again impatiently.

"Yeah, I'll be over in a few minutes." He said before the line went dead.

Tails set the phone down. "Something's gotta be wrong for Sally to want me over there so quickly." He said out loud as he grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

Sally set the phone down and got off the couch. She went into the bedroom to change clothes. She walked over to the closet and opened it, grabbing the first thing she laid her hands on. She put the clothes on the bed and shut the closet door. She sat down on the bed and felt a lump in the mattress. "What the...?" She said out loud. She got down on her knees and ran her hand over the small bump. "It's probably nothing." She said. Just as she was about to get up and change her shirt, she noticed a small tear on the side of the mattress that Sonic slept on.

She put her hands into the tear in the mattress and felt around, eventually placing her hand on a small bag and a piece of paper. She pulled both of them out and was shocked at what she found. Inside the bag were pills of Phenotol as well as a prescription for more. She looked at the small bag of pills and the prescription until it hit her like a ton of bricks. Sonic had been faking all the pain he said he was having. Sally stood there in disbelief holding the bag of capsules and the slip of paper, cursing herself for not realizing what was going on before. She realized why he went to the bathroom so much. Why he had been acting the way he had been over the last month. She got off her knees and put the bag of pills and prescription in her pocket. Sally walked into the living room and sat on the couch, crying and waiting for Tails to arrive.

Tails made it to Sally's place in about 15 minutes. He started to walk up to the front door when he noticed through a small opening that the curtain in the window made. Inside, he saw Sally crying again, her head cradled in both her hands. _Something bad must've happened for her to be crying like that. _Tails thought to himself as he walked away from the window and walked up to the door. He knocked on the door and Sally opened it a split second later. "Hey Sally. What's happening?" He asked. He noticed that her eyes were red and the skin around them was puffy. He figured she had been crying for some time.

"Hi Tails." She said quietly, almost in a whisper, her voice low due to the amount of crying she had done. Tails walked over to the couch and sat down. "Now, what's the problem?" He asked, expecting her to talk about something Sonic had done. "It's Sonic." She said. When those words came out of her mouth, a chill ran down the middle of Tails spine.

"What happened?" He asked, hoping it wouldn't be the one thing he feared. Sally opened her mouth to speak, but started sobbing uncontrollably again.

Sonic had been running for quite a while. It was getting dark out. "I'm not gonna reach Metalopolis before night." Sonic said, hoping he would make it while there was still light out. He had one pill left. He had to reach Metalopolis tonight if he was going to have a chance to get anymore. You could get any kind of drug in Metalopolis, from pot to heroin to every type of pill known to man, including Phenotol. Sonic sped up; running as fast as his legs could carry him. _Where the hell is it? It never took me this long to get there. _Sonic thought to himself. Before he met Sally and before he had written the Misery novels, he had freed Metalopolis from Robotink. He had taken over the city and attempted to use it as a base before Sonic had liberated the town. It slowly turned into a breeding ground for criminals and lowlifes. Crime ran rampant. Drugs and prostitution were the norm.

Sonic thought he would never find it until a light in the distance caught his eye. He looked over and saw Metalopolis. Blue realized he was running the wrong way, something he had only begun to do since he began taking the pills. He turned and ran toward the city to find Scourge.

Tails reached over and hugged her, trying to calm her down enough so she could explain what had happened. "Sally, I need you to stop crying and tell me what happened." Tails said.

"Well," Sally began, "I found these." She said as she produced the bag from her pocket as well as the prescriptoin and handed it to Tails. Tails stared at the items in his hands. "What are they?" He asked.

"There Phenotol. There painkillers. I found them in a hole in the mattress along with that prescription. Sonic was taking them for pain after he got out of the hospital and it looks like he was going to get more." Sally said.

"Wait. You don't think he's... addicted to them do you?" He asked Sally.

When those words left Tails mouth, Sally jumped up and ran into the bedroom and threw herself on the bed, crying once again. _NO, NO! That's not the Sonic I know. _She said in her head, not wanting to believe what was happening to blue. Tails followed her into her room and sat down on the bed next to her. He knew this had to be hard on her, but it hurt Tails even more. After everything he went through with Sonic, Tails didn't want to believe it either. He almost broke down crying himself, but managed to hold it together. After all, he didn't want to upset Sally anymore than she already was. Tails placed his hand on Sally's shoulder and tried to comfort her as best he could.

"It's ok. Everything's going to be all right." Tails said.

Sonic finally made it to Metalopolis. Now all he had to do was find out where Scourge lived. Blue didn't like being in this particular part of Mobius. In fact it made his stomach turn in knots just breathing the air. But what choice did he have? Go back home, admit his problem and lose the respect of his friends? He couldn't bring himself to do that to them, or himself. He ran the entire length of the city twice, but was unable to find Scourge's house. The sun had almost set, meaning it was time to either find somewhere to stay for the night, or end up on someone's bad side. He was thinking of what to do next when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Hey, you looking for a good time?" The voice asked.

"What?" Blue said as he saw a prostitute who looked like she only ate once a month staring at him. "No, no." He said nervously. "I'm looking for a guy named Scourge. You wouldn't know where he lived would you?" Blue asked, hoping she could point him in the right direction.

"Scourge? Yeah, I know where that sorry bastard lives. Go down the street for three blocks, make a left and follow the road until you reach the last house." She said.

"Ok, thanks." He said.

"You sure you don't want to have some fun?" She asked.

"No, I'm quite sure. Thank you." He said. He started to take off but stopped. Opening his suitcase, he pulled out a five-dollar bill and gave it to her. She stuck it inside her shirt and looked at Sonic, her face lighting up with a smile.

"Oh honey, you just made my day! You know how long it's been since I had a customer?" She asked. Sonic figured from her tone of voice it had been quite awhile. "I don't want sex." Sonic blurted out. "That was for your help." Sonic started to close the suitcase and noticed something missing. He pulled everything out looking for the missing item. _You fucking idiot! You forgot about the rest of the pills. The woman stared at him, wondering why he pulled all his clothes out of the suitcase and threw them in the street. "Everything alright?" She asked. Sonic quickly placed everything back into the suitcase and closed it, cursing himself for being so careless. "No, everything's fine. Thanks for your help." Blue said before he sped away from the woman. "Well, I wish every night was this good." She said as she continued to walk the streets, looking for customers._

_After following the directions from the hooker, Sonic came upon Scourge's house. He stood on the porch, wondering if he was making the right decision or not. But the dream he had in the forest was in the back of his mind. Forcing his arm up, he knocked on the door. Nothing. He knocked again, this time harder._

"_Hold on a damn minute!" Blue heard a familiar voice speak, yelling obscenities until he reached the door. "I told you to come back tomorrow!" He yelled as he flung the door open. "What the hell do you want?" Scourge demanded when he saw Sonic standing on his doorstep. _

"_Hey Scourge." Sonic said. "Can I come in?" Sonic asked._

"_Why?" Scourge asked._

"_I need your help." Sonic said._

_Scourge looked at him for a second before bursting into a fit of laughter. "YOU?" He said, laughing his head off. "The great Sonic Hedgehog needs my help? What's so bad about your life that you need my help?" Scourge managed to say between breaks in his uncontrollable giggling fit._

"_Just let me in." Sonic said, the tone of his voice turning serious._

"_All right. No need to get your panties in a bunch." Scourge said, becoming Sonic to come inside. Sonic walked in and almost gagged. The smell inside was powerful. A combination of dirty laundry, feet and from what he could tell was combined with either bad meat or good cheese. The house could use a good cleaning too. Dirty clothes everywhere. Used condoms on the floor. Cigarette butts on the coffee table. Sonic almost threw up. Never in his life had he been in a place has horrible as this. Even Robotnik's prison cells were better than this place._

_Scourge flopped down in a beanbag chair and looked at Sonic. "Well, you gonna tell me what's up? Or you gonna stand there all night?" Scourge asked. Sonic broke his trance and went over to the couch. He moved a pile of old clothes out of the way and sat down. The cushion made a slight crunching sound when he made contact with it, making blue jump a little. After settling down, he told Scourge the whole story._

_End of 3_

_End notes: I had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to get this chapter rolling. This was the best I could come up with. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better, please let me know. I don't think I did the best I could with this chapter. Random weird news story: In Great Britain, a gym just opened up that lets members lift not weights, but people. And not regular people. Little people. They wear all black with there weight printed on there shirts and when you start lifting them, the little guys yell encouraging stuff at you. True story. Google it if you don't believe me._


	4. A Taste Of Something New

Chapter 4: A Taste Of Something New

A/N: None of the drugs in this story do not exist as far as I know. This may be my last chapter for a while. I will continue to work on them whenever I can, but since other stuff has come up, I won't be able to write everyday like I have been. Maybe every three or four days, but that's about it. Thanks for reading.

Scourge couldn't believe what blue just told him, rolling around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

"What the hell's so damn funny?" Sonic demanded to know.

Scourge picked himself up off the floor after he regained his composure. "Oh man," Scourge said, catching his breath after his laughing fit, "If someone had told me that you were gonna come to me to help with your 'problem', I wouldn't have believed them." Scourge said, still chuckling slightly.

"Well, you gonna help me out or not?" Blue asked, his patience running thin.

"Of course. After all, I can't send the 'world's greatest hero' out into the streets to die." Scourge put his arm around blue's shoulder. "Now, you need anything?" Scourged asked.

"Well, I am gonna need some more Phenotol if you can find any." Sonic said. By his calculations, his body would be screaming for them in less than an hour.

"Phenotol!?" That's kid's stuff. I'll get you something better than that crap you were taking." Scourge said. "I'll be back in 10 minutes. Make yourself at home." Scourge said as he grabbed his wallet off the table and headed out the door. Sonic walked into the hallway and into the bathroom. He stopped dead in his tracks upon discovering the condition of the bathroom. The floor was covered in dirty clothes (just like the rest of the house), the sink was filthy, covered in a layer of grime so thick, you could take a knife and scrape the filth off. The shower looked just as bad. The faucet was covered in soap scum and hard water deposits, causing it to look like someone had covered it with a white, almost translucent paint.

The toilet was the worst. It looked like it had never been cleaned. Blue laid his eyes on the horrors in front of him and backed straight out of the bathroom. "I ain't going in there unless it's an emergency." He said, slightly shaking due to what he just saw. Walking back down the hall, he made his way into the kitchen. Sonic was hungrier than he realized. Blue had not eaten anything for four days. He opened the fridge and looked inside. Surprisingly, it was the only thing in the house that was clean. There wasn't much inside. Just a few eggs, bread and jelly and a lot of beer. Curiously, he opened the freezer, only to find a tray of ice.

_He must live on fast food. But where does he get the money?_ Sonic wondered. Blue pulled the loaf of bread out as well as the jelly. Finding the cleanest place he could, he set the bread and jelly down and made a jelly sandwich. Placing the bread and jelly back in the fridge, he shut the door and grabbed his sandwich and sat down on the couch. Sonic found the TV remote and turned on the TV. Settling on a movie, he ate his sandwich and waited for Scourge to come back. _He better not take too long._

Tails sat with Sally until she calmed down again, which took almost 30 minutes. "I should call Knuckles and Shadow and let them know what's going on." Tails said. Sally looked at him, wiping the tears from her face. "You're right." Sally said.

Tails had an easy time getting Knuckles to come over, but Shadow was a little different. It took a good amount of convincing and a little threatening from both Sally and Tails to convince him to come over. Knuckles showed up about 10 minutes after Tails had called him, followed almost immediately by Shadow. Shadow looked at Knuckles. "Must be important it they called both of us." Shadow said as he walked up to the door. He knocked and Tails invited both of them in. "Please sit down." Tails said.

Knuckles sat down but Shadow just stood where he was. "So what's going on?" Knuckles asked.

Tails was about to speak when Sally stopped him. "It's Sonic. He's... he's..." Sally said, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Sit down Sally. I'll tell them." Tails said as he helped Sally over to the couch. He turned to face Shadow and Knuckles and told them everything.

Back at Scourge's house, Sonic had been waiting for him to come back. It had been almost thirty minutes since he left and the withdrawal symptoms had begun to return. The burning had begun to build up in his legs just as Scourge opened the door. He walked over to where Sonic was and tossed a small bag at him. "Here. This should work better than those pills you were taking." He said, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a couple of bottles. Scourge walked back to the couch and handed Sonic a beer. "That'll help them go down better." Scourge said.

Sonic looked at the bag that Scourge handed him. They definitely weren't Phenotol. They were smaller and a dark green color. Sonic opened the bag and pulled out three of them. Sonic opened his beer and popped all three of the pills in his mouth. He took a drink from his beer and they went down easily. Scourge looked at him, a curious look on his face. "How many of those did you take?" He asked.

"Three. Just like I was with the Phenotol. Why? What's wrong with them? " Sonic asked. Scourge laughed at him. "Dude, those aren't just painkillers, there also a hallucinogen. You're gonna see some freaky ass shit." Scourge said as he sat back on the couch, letting the pills take over his body. Sonic's mind began to race, wondering what he would go through after taking three of those pills instead of one like he was supposed to. He turned to Scourge. "So how long will it last?" Sonic asked, wanting to know how long he would ride the high.

Scourge turned toward him, his eyes almost shut, slurring his speech slightly due to the effects of the drugs. "Well, when you only take one, it usually last's a few hours and varies from person to person. But in your case, someone who's never taken them and the fact that you took three of them your first time, I'd say about a 12 hours." Scourge said, letting his head fall back and rest on the couch.

A bolt of worry ran through him as he thought about what he was going to go through. "Just think happy thoughts and you'll be fine." Scourge said, not even bothering to lift his head to look at blue.

Sonic sat on the couch Indian style, almost meditating, trying to keep this from turning into a bad trip. That's when things began to get weird for him.

Back at Sally's house, Knuckles was still in shock upon hearing the news about Sonic. "I just can't believe something like this would happen to _him_." Knuckles said.

"After what he went through up there with that crazy bitch, it's not surprising that faker is an addict. Doesn't surprise me one bit." Shadow said, but couldn't be happier in his head. After all. He was better than Sonic, even more so than before. Something he had been trying to prove for a long time. But Shadow knew not to open his mouth and let something slip now unless he wanted all three of them wanting to kill him.

"So what do we do now?" Shadow asked.

"We should go look for him." Tails suggested.

"But where do we start?" Knuckles asked.

Sally had been sitting there for quite a while without saying a word, finally offering her opinion. "We should split up in different directions." Sally said, jumping up from the couch. She pointed at each of them and gave them their orders. Tails, you go north in the Tornado. You might spot him camped out somewhere. Shadow, you go east, Knuckles, you go south and I'll take west. Let's go!" Sally said, grabbing her keys off the table and heading out the door. "I don't get it. One minute she's crying her eyes out and the next she's herself again." Knuckles chuckled slightly at Tails. "You don't get women, do you?" He said.

Tails looked at him, slightly angered at Knuckles. "And what's that supposed to mean? I've never seen you with a woman. What makes you the expert on them?" He demanded.

"Just an observation." Knuckles said as he left. "Guess I should get going. " Shadow said. "You going?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'll get going in a minute." Tails said as Shadow left and shot off towards the east. Tails walked inside the house, trying not to think about what would happen if and when he found Sonic. "What if I find him in the forest? Alone and on those things." He said to himself quietly, tears forming in his eyes. "What if he's dead?" Tails said, unable to hold it back any longer.

Scourge's house:

The drugs in Sonic's body had taken hold several hours ago. The things he had seen were amazing. Colors were more vivid, sounds were amplified, and even the air was amazing. He even had a conversation with a tiny Robotnik apparently living under a chair. Everything was going good until something crossed his mind that wasn't happy. He thought of Sally. That small thought about her was all it took for his trip to go south quickly. Suddenly, Sonic heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it and found Sally standing on the other side. "Sally?" He said, surprised she had found him so quickly. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I've come for you." She said, embracing him in a tight hug. Sonic returned the hug, glad to see her again, but quickly pulled away. "I don't want you too see me like this." Sonic said, turning his back to her, trying to avoid looking at her. "Sonic," She said, "It's ok. I know what happened. Come back with me. Please." She pleaded.

"I... I can't. I don't want you to be with a loser." Sonic said.

Sally's voice turned angry upon hearing those words. "You think you're a loser?" She said. Sonic kept his back turned toward her but still spoke. "I do." He said shamefully.

"Well, if that's the way you feel about yourself, I guess I have no choice." Sally said as she pulled a knife out and stabbed blue in the back, directly in the spine. "AHHHH!" Sonic screamed as the knife dug deep into him. He fell on the floor on his stomach, grabbing desperately at the blade, trying to pull it out.

"Why would I want to be with a loser like you? Since that's the case, why would the_ world need a loser like you?" Sally asked as she stabbed him repeatedly in the back. Sonic felt his life slip away when he heard a voice call to him._

"_HEY! SONIC!" Scourge yelled, shaking him violently, trying to get Sonic to snap out of his trip. Sonic bolted upright quickly._

"_You ok?" Scourge asked. "You were tripping pretty hard there." _

_Sonic looked around, not knowing where he was at first. "Oh fuck! That was horrible." Sonic said, grabbing the bag of pills next to him. "Here!" Sonic said handing the bag to Scourge. "Keep these away from me!" Sonic yelled, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them, trying to get the image of Sally stabbing him over and over. "I didn't think you could handle it." Scourge said, laughing. Sonic didn't respond. He just sat there, trying to get a grip on himself._

_End of four._

_End stuff: Well, there it is. Hope you enjoy it. Of course, if you read it and don't like it, it still makes my count go up, which makes me happy._


	5. A New Experience

Chapter 5 A New Experience

Hey people, I'm back. Got a net connection again so stuff might be rolling out

Pretty frequently again. Of course this will only last til my job holds out. So until then hope you enjoy these.

By the way, it's been a while since I've done this (obviously) so please be nice. Or don't I don't care. At least I'm finishing this. Sega owns all.

"What?" Sonic yelled out, surprised that someone was shaking him. "Dude, you OK?" It was Scourge, a look of what could only be described as humor and panic on his face.

"Man, think I gave you a bit too much. You're not getting anymore of these for a while." He said, taking the baggie of pills and putting them in his pocket. Sonic looked around, still in his daze. Even though the pills were wearing off, he could still feel the effects. Scourge's voice sounded like he was in the middle of the tunnel, echoing off the walls. Sonic could only make out every other word, trying desprately to make out what he was saying.

"You think! Geeez, you have any idea what I witnessed? " Sonic said, the effects starting to wear off.

"I don't know. Sunshine and puppies?" Scourge asked, a small grin spreading across his face. "So what did you see? It helps to talk about it afterwards."

Sonic sat down on the couch beside Scourge, his head in his hands. "Well for one thing, I saw a 3 inch Robotnik that lived under your chair." Sonic said, a small grin on his face as well.

"So that's what you were gong on about. From what I could tell, you sounded like his best friend." Scourge said with a slight laugh. He knew what Sonic had just went through having been through it himself numerous times before. They talked for a few minutes both laughing about each others "trips' when Sonic stopped, suddenly remembering Sally stabbing him with that knife. "Loser!", her voice echoing through his mind.

"What?" Scourge asked blue.

"Nothing. Just a bad thought." Sonic said, jumping up from the couch as if to try to shake the memory from his mind. "Well, all that made me hungry. Can we get something to eat?" Sonic said, his stomach coming to life finally.

"Yeah, I know a great place where we can get something to eat and a little more." Scourge said, the wheels in his mind beginning to turn. "Just what are you thinking of?" Sonic asked, hoping it didn't involve little green pills.

Scourge flashed him his trademark cocky smile, "Don't worry, it won't be anymore of these little guys. Trust me." He said, pulling the baggie out just far enough where it could see the light of day. "Let's get some grub." Scourge said opening the door. "What the hell! When did the sun come up!" Sonic said, wondering just how long he'd been out. "It's been about 15 hours. Yeah, you went a little long there. Guess that happens when it's your first time." Scourge said as he bolted for the nearest fast food joint.

"Wait for me!" Sonic yelled, chasing after him.

Sally

"Where the hell are they?" Sally wondered pacing the floor, waiting for any word from the rescue party. She had been trying to keep herself busy any way she could. Cleaning the house, watching TV(which didn't last too long). Anything to take her mind off of Sonic. "I wish they would get back here." She said to the air. Sally looked out the window, watching for any sign of Knuckles, Tails or Shadow. She still couldn't figure out why Shadow wanted to help. Maybe it was genuine. Maybe it was because he was bored being on ARK (is that where he is most of the time?) for so long. She couldn't tell. She only knew that she was grateful that he could help.

Staring out the window paid off finally as Knuckles was the first one to come back. The red echinda was slightly winded, having ran farther and longer than he had in a while. No sooner than he stopped at the door he heard, "Anything?" she asked, hoping for good news.

Knuckles made his way inside, plopping down on a chair before answering. "No." he said. "Nothing. I checked everywhere I could. (insert your own location's here. Not too good with em.)

You sure his head ain't busted or anything like that?" Knuckles asked, thinking that was the only reason Sonic would leave.

"No. I know his head's fine. He's been seeing a therapist since he's been back." Sally said. Accedently letting out something Sonic made her agree to never tell anyone, not even Tails.

Knuckles looked at her, wide eyed. "It was that bad? Just what the hell did she do to him?" The echinda asked. Sally thought about telling him knowing that if she did she would, she would be breaking a promise to Sonic, something she didn't want to do. "Look, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine." Knuckles said.

"No, no. Maybe it would be good to get it out. But, you can't tell ANYONE that I told you these thing's. If it got back to him, he would never forgive me. Got it?" She said, her eyes staring holes straight through Knuckles.

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul." Knuckles said, preparing to hear everything that had went on in the "Funhouse".

"Well…"

"Here." Scourge said, tossing Sonic a burger. "They make the best in town. Course, there the only clean place in this godforsaken dump." He said sitting down to eat his own.

"Thanks. Sonic said, taking the burger and unwrapping it. Sonic could not believe he was in Metropolis of all places. It had never been the greatest part of Mobius, but it had really gone down hill the past couple of years. Since Robotnik had control of the city a few years ago, it was a good place for gangs and dealers to hide in. The police had become almost nonexistent, only responding when they felt it was safe for them to. Things could not be any worse. Until Scourge spoke.

"Hold on a minute." He said, getting up and walking away from Sonic. "Where th-" Sonic started to say before realizing it was pointless to continue. "Geez. He could give me a little warning." He said quietly.

"Come on!" He heard a familiar voice yell, grabbing his arm and bolting away from the place where blue had been enjoying his first real food in a while. "What the hell's going on!" Sonic demanded, finally running on his own.

"Shit went down. I got you some of those, what d'ya call em?" He asked booking it full speed back to his house.

"Phenotol!" Sonic yelled, wondering what the hell had happened back there.

"Yeah, those. Well, I was buying em when this little bag caught my eye." He said, pulling out a bag of strange white powder. "So I swiped it." he said with that damned grin on his face.

"You stole that shit! What the hell's wrong with you?" Sonic asked as they reached his new home.

"Just get inside!" Scourge said, panic in his voice shutting the door and locking it behind him.

"You mind telling me why you decided to steal that, whatever the hell that stuff is anyway?" Sonic asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out 4 of his little "friends", dry swallowing them without thinking, trying anything to get his nerves under control.

"Relax man." Scourge said, pulling out the bag of what Sonic could describe as 'sugary snow'.

"So, what the hell's this stuff do? Make you see little Robotnik's and hear shit?" He asked.

"No. It's like the Phenotol, only double strength. Better than those little things you've been taking." He said opening the bag and grabbing a little with the tips of his fingers. "Watch." Scourge said, taking his fingers up to his nose and inhaling quickly. "AAAH! GLUHHH!" Scourge moaned (is that the right description) as the powdery stuff made it's way into his body. "And that's all there is to it. Exept for the burning at first. But it's only a second.."

"NO! There's no way in HELL that I'm taking powder. That's where I draw the line." Sonic said, wondering why he had erupted like that. _What the- why the hell hasn't this shit kicked in yet? He wondered. Usually the Phenotol had taken effect by now, bringing a calm euphoria over him. _

"_Let me guess, stuff not working like it should? No surprise, your body's become used to them. I've seen it happen." Scourge said, getting up off the couch and walking back to his room. "Why do you thing I bought the 'Sugar', for fun? I knew that they wouldn't work as good as they usually do, so I picked that up." He said, flashing his grin at Sonic before heading into his room to crash again. "Well it's up to you. Take it or don't. I don't care…" he trailed off as he shut the door behind him._

_Sonic sat on the couch in front of the bag of 'Sugar'. "Used to them? Bull. I know that's a crock. But the thought of taking some began to cross his mind._

_End of 5_

_Well folks, here it is. Some things I want to say. First, great to be back. 2nt, hopefully I can finish this one and get one more in before it's all taken away from me. And 3: thanks. Rate and comment plz!_


	6. A First Time For Everything

A First Time For Everything

A/N: It feels so good to be able to start up again. I would have uploaded this a while back, but editing kept it on hold and the fact I couldn't get to a computer to upload it. But it's done now. Rated M for safety. Contains strong language throughout and drug use. Don't use drugs. Drugs are bad. Ahh well, let's continue with the main story. Enjoy.

Sonic sat on the floor in front of the couch, his knees pulled up to his chest, still trying to get the drug induced hallucination of Sally stabbing him with the kitchen knife in the back. "What the hell happened?" Sonic asked, breathing heavily.

"Looks like you had a bad trip. Here's a question: Did you have any bad thoughts?" Scourge asked.

"I really don't want to talk about it, man." Sonics reasoning was the more he thought about it, the longer it would linger in his head. It had almost been too much for him to handle in his drug induced state.

"Dude, I know from experience that it helps to talk about it. Unless it was gay. Then I don't want to know."

Sonic thought it over and decided Scourge might be right for once. _I guess he would know._ "Well, it happened like this."

Sally

Almost an hour had passed since Sally, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow had set out looking for the troubled hedgehog. It didn't help that they had set out late in the day. The sun had started to set and Sally knew it was time to head back, even though she had to fight with every fiber of her being to not keep her car moving forward. "I guess I won't be much help to him if I can't see anything." She said to herself as she stopped her car, turned around and headed home.

Tails

"Really? Nothing?" Were the first words that had come out of the fox's mouth for what he figured had been a good 15 minutes. His attention was divided three ways. 1. Looking for Sonic. 2. Flying the plane. And 3. Sally. "Where the hell are you Sonic?" Tails had made a pass over of all of Sonics so called 'quiet places'. Tails knew every one of them and had made a point of it to do so. It had started a couple of years ago before everything had happened. He managed to followed Sonic around wherever he went by flying using his twin tails. At first, it took a great amount of stamina and concentration to follow him for more than a 30-minute stretch. But as the weeks and months passed by, the amount of time that the fox could stay up in the air for a solid 2 hours. Due to his increased flying power, he committed every place Sonic went to memory. Tails looked at his watch. "Damn. Times flies when you're having fun." The fox turned the plane around and headed back to Sally's.

Knuckles

"Well, this is just friggin' great." Knuckles said to himself. He had left at the same time the others had. About an hour ago, and the way he went led the echidna through the countryside. Not really a place for a drugged out hedgehog to run and hide. There were a couple of places close by, but they were too obvious. "Ah, screw this. I'm going back."

Shadow

"How did I get roped into doing this shit?" Shadow grumbled. "Drugged out asshole wants to run away from his problems and get stoned to escape his problems, I say let 'em." The route Shadow had taken led him through the forest. He had been doing his version of 'Search and Rescue' which meant not paying a lot of attention and giving the area a quick look over. Shadow checked his watch. He had been looking at it more than his surroundings. He didn't want to head back so soon, since that would raise more than a few questions from Sally and the others. "Oh, look at that. It's been an hour already. Time to head back." As he made his way back to Sally's house, something caught his attention. A small bottle lying in what appeared to be a part of the ground that had been dug out to make a makeshift sleeping pit. Shadow picked up the bottle and noticed about 6 pills inside. "Well, well. Looks like we have a winner." Shadow stored the bottle in his quills and headed back to Sally's.

Sonic

"So that's what happened, huh?" Scourge said. "Looks like you're gonna have to start out on the baby stuff." The green hedgehog got up and walked into his room and came back a few seconds later holding a small bag and a large glass object.

"Baby stuff? What the hell does that mean? I feel like I've lost my mind twice now. You better have a damn good explanation." Sonic demanded.

He set them on the table and looked Sonic in the eyes. "Look man. I didn't realize it until now, but I don't think with all you been through your psyche can handle what's known around here as the good stuff. Looks like you're gonna have to start on, what's know around here as 'baby formula'. You normal folk might know it as weed. We just call it baby formula. Strange name, I know, but when you're hanging around with people like me all day, it's pretty creative from our point of view." Green pulled out the stem and laid it on the table.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. The first time you gave me something, it made me bat shit nuts. Then the Novril you got for me was fake. Then the last... whatever the hell it was made me freak out. Now you want me to smoke some pot that for all I know could be laced with god knows what? No way man. I'd ain't gonna go through hell again." Scourge stopped filling the stem of the pipe and put it down on the table.

"OK. Look. I'm sorry. But like I said, it was to get an idea of what you _could handle. _The Novril was good. Trust me on that one. Dealers around here don't mess with the pills or the weed. It's just that your body's become accustomed to them. Let me guess, you've been upping the amount you've been taking haven't you."

Sonic thought for a second. "Well, yeah. Crap's not working like it used to." He said.

"That's one for me. OK. Like I said before, it was all a test to see just what you're body could take. I mean, I've been doing this stuff for years. I know what I'm doing, and I know what to do if something went wrong. So you're just gonna have to trust me. One more question though, was your heart racing while you were high?" Scourge asked, anticipating what the answer was gonna be.

"Yeah. Like I had been running for days. Is that bad?"

"Well no, you're a special case. If you were physiology were normal, you're heart would still be racing from the first pill. It's a side effect. Doesn't happen much though. But, since your heart is used to working overtime often, it's used to that kind of punishment."

"OK." Sonic still wasn't sure if Scourge could be completely trusted. After all, this guy didn't care about anyone or anything let alone another junkie. "So just what's in that weed? And I want the fucking truth. No BS this time."

"It's just pot. 100% pot. Nothing else. It's just the standard 'calm you down and laugh a lot' stuff. I can see you're still a little shaken up from that bad trip. Don't worry. That's the reason I brought this out. It'll calm you down." Scourge stopped packing the bowl. It was filled to the top. "The only side effects from this are laughing your ass off and getting the munchies harder than you have ever been in your life." Scourge said, grabbing the pipe and his lighter.

The smoke was thick and heavy, lingering in the air for a good amount of time. "OK dude, your turn." Scourge said, handing blue the pipe and lighter. "It's gonna calm you down real quick." Sonic took the pipe from Scourge and looked at it._ Should I really do this shit?_ Sonic asked himself. By now, his brain had split into two different schools of thought. The right side said, "Think about this. This could be worse than what he's given you before. You can't trust him." But the left side countered with, "JUST FUCKING DO IT ALREADY!"

"Well who could argue with that logic?" Sonic put the pipe to his lips and the lighter to the bowl. He inhaled and immediatly started coughing. And coughing. And coughing. Scourge sat on his little section of the couch, amused at the blue hedgehog's coughing fit. "Heh. That takes me back. It's a little rough at first but it gets easier the more you do it." He said, grabbing the pipe from Sonic and packing it full again. "Looks like..." Scourge began, studying the hedgehog intently. "You need about two more hits." He said, preparing for the second round.

Sally

It had taken Sally only 30 minutes to get back to her house. "Guess I drove a little fast." Sally said, turning off the engine and getting out of the car. She shut the door and made her way to the door. Sally grabbed her keys and opened the door, setting her purse down on a small table and began to cry again.

Tails

_Look's like I'm the first one back. _Tails thought. He didn't know what he was going to tell Sally or how he was going to tell her. On one hand, he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't lie to her and give her false hope. _Might has well just suck it up and do it._ But before he could grab the doorknob, he felt a hand wrap around his shoulder.

Sonic

Sonic had already taken three hits. _OK, so when does this shit kick in? _He wondered. After all, last time he took something that had a delay effect, he ended up freaking out and trying to avoid an invisible knife. "Hey, Scourge. When does this stuff kick in?" Sonic asked his green counterpart, but was met with uncontrollable, howling laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Was all that came out of Scourge. "I think you've had enough." Sonic said. Blue tried to get up, but couldn't. His body wouldn't respond. His feet and legs felt like they were encased in lead. He tried to move his arms but the only response he got from them were small, jerky movements. Upon discovering this fact, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Oh no." Blue said in an almost monotone voice. "I can't move." And upon saying that, he burst into uncontrollable laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't... I can't..." Were all he managed to get out.

Scourge lifted his head off the back of the couch. _Looks like he's all nice and toasted._ Scourge thought, and laid his head against the back of the couch .

Tails

"You find anything Tails?" The voice asked. Tails spun around to see Knuckles holding his shoulder.

"Jeez! Don't sneak up on me like that." Tails said, his heart racing. "No. Didn't see jack. You?"

"Nope. Anything fromShadow?" Knuckles asked.

"He hasn't come back yet. Well, shall we give her the news?" Tails asked, reaching for the door.

"Yeah." Knuckles replied. "Beats standing out here."

Shadow

Shadow could not stop thinking about the bottle he found at the campsite. _I know it was his. I mean, what kind of person would need painkillers out here. They wouldn't be in any shape to be out here in the first place. _Shadow put the bottle back into his quills. "If I can find that same place tomorrow, I'll be easier to look for him. Then when I find him, I can finally prove that I'm better. I mean, _I'm _not the one with the drug problem." Shadow never thought this would happen. He finally had something he could hold over Sonic. This particular fact had begun to dawn on the hedgehog, and at the same time, a slight grin had appeared. In what seemed like minutes, he could see Sally's house off in the distance. "That was fast. Time to pull it together."

Sally

"Did you find anything Knuckles?" Sally asked, hoping he found some sign on Sonic. Knuckles could only look at the ground as he responded. "N-no. Nothing." _God I wish I would've found something._

"_Tails? How about you?" Tails was the same way as Knuckles. Neither could look her in the eye. "I didn't find anything either." Tails said quickly. Sally got up off the couch and waked over to her two closest friends. "Look at me." She said. "Don't worry. I didn't find anything either. Besides, we were only out for an hour. It wasn't like a miracle was going to happen. Anyway, have you two heard anything from Shadow?" Sally asked. "No. He should be getting back soon though." Tails said. As soon as those words left Tails mouth, Shadow walked in through the door. _

"_Well, well. Look who's back. Did you find anything? Or did you even do anything?" Knuckles asked._

_Shadow just glared at him. "No. Nothing." He said sitting down on a chair. "Didn't find dimp."_

_This new information did nothing to console Sally. She let out a long sigh. "Oh, I hope he's all right." Sally looked outside. The sun had gone down by now, replaced with the moon. A few clouds covered the night sky. I guess there's no point looking now." She said. Tails stood up and walked over to Sally to try to offer some sort of reassurance. "Don't worry Sally. I know he's somewhere safe. We'll look again tomorrow. OK? For now, I think you need something to eat. You look like you haven't eaten in days." Tails said, walking into the kitchen to try to make something edible for her. _

_Knuckles got up from where he was. "Look Sally, I've gotta go. I don't like to leave the island unguarded for too long, ya know. I hope you don't mind." Knuckles said._

_Sally looked up at him from the couch, her head resting on the arm. "No it's OK. Go. I know you're needed there."_

"_Are you sure?" Knuckles asked._

"_It's OK." Sally repeated. "Thanks for helping Knuckles." _

"_No problem." He said as he walked out the door. _

_Sally started to address Shadow when she heard Tails voice. "What do you want Sally?"_

_Sally wasn't really hungry, but she went along with Tails. "What ever you can find Tails. I don't want you to go to too much trouble."_

"_It's no trouble. It's what friends do." Tails replied cheerfully. Sally turned her attention back to Shadow. "Did you find anything Shadow?" Sally asked, but Shadow had already left._

_Sonic_

"_Hahahahaha." Sonic had been laughing for almost five minutes straight. Scourge was right for once. It wasn't laced with anything and had done just what he said it would do. Make him laugh. And laugh. And laugh. And then the hunger had set in. A hunger fiercer than any he had felt before. "Hey, Scourge. What's to eat?" Sonic asked, holding back what laughs were left in him. _

"_Just order a pizza." He replied. "It's on speed dial." Sonic picked up the phone and looked it over for the number. He found it and dialed. "I'm gonna get like five of em. I'm hungry as balls." Sonic said. His own words causing him to snicker. Scourge looked up. "No. Get three. I don't have enough for five." He said and let his head fall back on the couch again as if nothing had happened._

_Knuckles_

_Knuckles had almost made his way out of the yard when Shadow stopped him. "Hey Red. Can I talk to you?" Shadow asked. This caught Knuckles off guard. Shadow was the last person he would expect to say those words. "What is it? You gonna gloat that Sonic's gone?" Knuckles asked._

"_Oh shut up. No. I found this." Shadow said, reaching back into his quills and produced the bottle of pills he found in the woods. Knuckles took it from his hands and inspected it closer. _

"_Is this what I think it is?" Knuckles asked, his mind already beginning to figure out what it was. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL SALLY?" Knuckles demanded._

_Shadow grabbed him. "Keep your damn voice down. I didn't tell her because I didn't want to get her hopes up." That answer also caught Knuckles off guard._

_Knuckles couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So wait. You actually care about Sonic? Bull."_

"_Not him. Sally. I don't care about him, but seeing her or any woman in that kind of pain just isn't right." Shadow said. "I'm going back to where I found these in the morning." Shadow turned away from Knuckles. "If Sally were to find out about this and it turns out to be nothing, it's going to push her to the edge. And if that happens, who knows what she'll be capable of. She's already been through enough shit the last few days. If I find anything I'll let you know. But until then, no one is to know about this. Got it?"_

_Knuckles looked at Shadow, stunned. "Y-yeah." was all he could say._

"_Good." Shadow said and sped off into the night._

"_I did not see this one coming." Knuckles popped off before heading back to his island._

_Sonic_

_It had been ten minutes since Sonic had ordered the pizzas. It would take about thirty minutes for them to get there, and in that time something interesting had happened. After he had hung up the phone, he got the bright idea to light up two more times. What proceeded was the standard laugh fest, followed by the cool down period, which basically meant the laughter subsided, followed by a period of staring and deep thinking. Fifteen minutes had passed since he had called for the pizzas, and something had caught his attention. In the TV were two little people. Sonic was transfixed on the two little inhabitants that had taken up living space in Scourge's TV. "Dude, you seeing this?" Sonic asked, hoping he wasn't losing it again. _

_Scourge looked up from the couch. "Woah. What ya think they want?" Scourge asked, now fixated on the same two that Sonic was. _

"_I don't know." Sonic replied. "Hi." Sonic said, waving his hand at the TV. "OH!" Sonic gasped, "Did you see that? He waved. Dude, you seeing this?" _

_Scourge lifted his hand and waived at the TV too. "Holy Shit! What do you think they want?" Scourge asked. "I don't know." Sonic replied. "But they're planning something. Look at 'em. They're plotting shit right now! What do we do?" Sonic asked, panicking over the events that were now transpiring._

_I don't know." Scourge replied. "TURN ON THE TV!" He yelled. Sonic and Scourge looked for the remote franticly trying to get rid of the people who by now had clearly been plotting to kill them._

"_Got it!" Scourge yelled, pointing it at the TV and hitting the 'Power' button. The TV powered on and the two people that were there disappeared, replaced by snow. Scourge let out a sigh of relief. "Did you see that? Fuckers were planning something." Scourge set the remote on the table and watched the TV carefully, making sure no one else was going to appear. _

"_Oh man, that was close." Sonic said. He turned towards Scourge and saw he was fixed on the TV again. Sonic began to freak out again. "What? More of those TV fuckers?" He asked._

"_No, no. Check it out. If you look at the static long enough, it starts looking like different stuff. Check it out." Scourge said. Sonic didn't even want to look at the TV but his curiosity got the better of him. It was like a car accident. He didn't want too look, but curiosity always wins in the end. Soon the static on the TV had become more entertaining than anything the two had ever seen before. Shapes and figures were everywhere on the screen. This went on for a good ten minutes when there was a knock at the door._

_Sonic jumped a foot off the couch. "Oh my god, you can hear my heart beating." There was another knock at the door. "Shit, there it is again!" Sonic exclaimed._

_Scourge didn't even break his gaze from the TV. "Dude. It's the pizza guy. Here's the money." Scourge handed him his wallet and kept on watching static. Sonic walked over to the door and opened it. _

"_Afternoon. Did you order three pizzas?" The guy asked._

_Sonic tried to maintain some sense of sobriety. "Yeah." He replied, snickering. The guy holding what seemed like boxes of gold to Sonic just shook his head. "Not like I haven't seen this before." He said under his breath. "That's uh... $25.84, no tip." Pizza guy said. Sonic reached into Scourge's wallet and grabbed a couple of bills. _

"_Here dude. Keep the change." Sonic said, grabbing the pizzas from pizza guy. Pizza guy looked down at what Sonic had given him. "$26. Really? Thanks, fucking pothead." Pizza guy mumbled as he walked away. Sonic heard this and shot back with, "Oh, fuck you with a brick!" And he laughed. Sonic shut the door and turned to Scourge. "Dude. Did you hear what I said?"_

"_Yeah, yeah." Scourge said, never breaking his gaze with the TV._

_End_

_Well people. Looks like this is the longest chapter I've done so far. I think I've put more work into this one than I have before. I got the "Fuck you with a brick" from You Tube. If you want to see it, look up "Yu Yu Hakusho abridged parody" by Lanipator. I don't remember which episode it is, but it's a funny series. I also found "DBZ abridged" by Team Four Star too. Look em up. They will make you laugh. If you review let me know if you watched either of them. If not that's cool, but I like to let everyone that I can know about them. Thanks for reading._


	7. Found Out

Here's another chapter. Rated M. Contains infrequent drug use, strong language and 'adult situations'. Enjoy.

Found Out

Sally

_Guess I was hungrier that I thought. _Sally hadn't really eaten anything the last few days. She had thought about Sonic and little else. Who could blame her. The man whom she adored for many, many years, had just up and left without saying a word, opting instead to leave her just a Dear John letter. When Tails had offered to cook her something to eat, she wasn't very hungry. But with someone there with her, she didn't think about Sonic very much. A small part of her normal life had returned. She also started talking again, instead of the one or two sentences that she had barely managed to spit out over the last week. She never thought she would be so lost without Sonic. The last week had been hell on her. Every morning, she had to force herself to get out of bed, force herself to eat or even do the simplest of tasks. She had not even changed her clothes or taken a shower since Sonic had left. And why should she. She had no one to impress. No one to care for. Why should she take care of herself? But with Tails there, these problems had vanished. Of course, Tails could never replace Sonic, but since Tails was _the _closest person she knew to Sonic, it felt like he was there.

After the food had been eaten and the dishes had been washed and put away, Sally was finally able to take a bath. _Mmmmmm. This is heaven._ She thought. The warm water enveloping her, melting away every bit of stress. The bubbles from the bubble bath encasing her in tiny pearls of silken joy. Sally had sat in the bath for over an hour. She toweled off and put on clean clothes. Something she had almost forgotten about in the fog that had settled in her mind since Sonic had left. Sally left the bathroom to find Tails sitting on the couch watching TV. "Hey Tails, I'm gonna go to bed. Do you think you could help me make my bed? I do it myself, but it takes two people." She said.

"Yeah sure." Tails said, getting up off the couch and following Sally into her bedroom. The first thing he noticed was how nice the room was. The second was that every picture of her and Sonic had been placed face down. _I guess that's the only way she could come in here without breaking down._ Tails thought. The third thing he noticed was one of the pillows was not covered in a pillowcase, but a shirt. _That's odd. Why would she use..._ And then it hit him. It was Sonic's. It reminded her of him. In fact, before she had done that, she hadn't slept for two days. On the third day, when she had put the T-Shirt on the pillow, she had slept for almost 11 hours.

Sally and Tails finished making her bed and she turned her attention to Tails. "You don't have to stay here with me, Tails. I'll be fine." Sally said. On the outside, she tried to act like everything was fine. But on the inside, she was grateful that Tails would in the house. She didn't want to be alone. After all, her best friend and the one person she truly loved had left her without warning.

Tails turned toward her and smiled. "To be honest, it's kind of lonely at the lab. I don't have anything big going on right now, and it's guarded pretty good so I don't have to worry about anyone breaking in and taking things. And besides, you guys have a better TV." Tails said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks Tails." Sally said. She was grateful that someone would be with her tonight. She couldn't bear the thought of being alone for another night. The bed that Sonic and herself had shared for so long had grown cold. The house, once so full of love and life had become cold as well. Almost becoming a prison for Sally. This place was no longer familiar. It was foreign. But having someone there to take some of the sadness off of her shoulders and help her bear the weight made her feel almost at ease. Was it Sonic? No. But it was the one who knew him the best. Two friends who had been through thick and thin together. "Go ahead and make yourself at home. If you need anything, just ask me." Sally said.

"Good night Sally." Tails said quietly and shut the door.

Shadow

It was around five in the morning when Shadow had left to look for Sonic. He wasn't sure what had driven him to look for his most hated rival. In fact, it made his skin crawl. When he first heard what had happened, it was one of the times he could remember being happy. Truly happy. But, he had witnessed the effects it had on Sally. Shadow did not care for Sonic, but he took no satisfaction watching Sally suffer. He was doing this for her and her alone. "Now, it should be right around here somewhere." Shadow said. The sun had begun to come up, casting enough light for him to see. Shadow found the spot he found the previous day, still undisturbed. _If I was him, which way would I go? _Shadow got down on one knee, looked around, trying to find any hint that people had been here recently. If he kept a sharp eye out, he would be able to spot any inconsistencies on the forest floor. People rarely traveled this far into the forest. Only well experienced campers and hikers made there way this deep, and there weren't any around at this time of year. And if anyone had been this far in, there would be tell-tale signs that people had been this far in (Really quick, even though they're animals, is it weird to call them people?).

Shadow looked around and saw a set of shoe prints on the ground, heading east. "Let's see, east? The only place that has anyone living in it would be Metropolis." There were three places Sonic could go from here. Labyrinth Zone, which was a vast underground cave system. Oil Ocean, which was, as the name implies, a vast oil field, and Metropolis, the second largest town next to Station Square. "So that's where he went." Shadow said. "I guess we should have figured this out." Shadow said as he got up off his knee. "Another winner." He popped off. _Let's see, he left what pills he had on him here, so I guess he wasn't thinking clearly. So, he wouldn't be able to run as fast as he usually can. And it takes about... a day to get to Metropolis at our speed. So let's see, in his condition it would take him almost two days to get there. And there's only one person I know that would take him in in a place like that. _"Scourge." And with that, Shadow sped of in the direction of Metropolis.

Sally

When Sally had woken up, it was morning. She had gotten a full night's sleep for the first time in almost a week. She felt refreshed. She reached over to the other side of the bed and reached out for Sonic, only to find the bed empty. "Oh yeah. That's right." She said quietly.

She got out of bed, saddened by the fact that Sonic had not been there when she awoke. She made her way out of the bedroom and into the living room. She walked over to the couch to find it empty. Her first thought was that Tails hadn't been at the house last night at all and she had just dreamed it, but a few second's later, she heard a noise coming from the bathroom. She walked over to the door and found it was slightly open. Inside she could hear the water running from the shower. Sally started to walk away but didn't move. "What the...?" Sally wondered, wispering to herself. Normally, she wouldn't even think about things like this, but she hadn't been herself since Sonic had left. It had been a week. A week since she had felt Sonic by her side. A week since Sonic had shared their bed together. A week since she had felt Sonic's touch. Part of her didn't want to do what she was about to do. After all, it was Sonic's best friend. She didn't want to betray him. But, the side that had been hurt and abandoned by the one she truly loved, wanted to do this. Sally shut the door just enough to make it look like it was closed, but open enough she could see when Tails stepped out of the shower. She heard the water for the shower shut off and her heart begun to beat faster. Tails stepped out of the shower and she caught the full show. He was facing forward with his back turned toward her. His twin tails swishing about from side to side. His fur dripping with water. Sally's eyes immediately were drawn to his butt. It reminded her of Sonic. This made her tense up and become wet. Her eyes scanned every inch of Tails. _Oh my god! What the hell is wrong with me? This isn't right! What about Sonic? _Sally wondered in her head. Her hand had stopped just before entering into her panties when Tails turned around.

Tails turned to reveal his naked body to her eyes. Sally took in everything. He had a good build on his body. Not like a body builder, but enough that he had definition. Something Sally had never really noticed before. Tails looked older for his age too. He looked eighteen, but was actually fifteen. Tails turned to where he was facing her and Sally's fingers began to probe inside her, but forced herself to stop. _What if he hears me? _She thought. Sally backed away from the door trying not to make a sound. She opened her bedroom door and locked it behind her.

Sonic

It was morning when Sonic woke up. The first thing he noticed was how dry his mouth was. It felt like he had tried to swallow a mouthful of cotton balls. He smacked his lips to try to get some saliva flowing, but it was like trying to water a dry field with a thimble. Sonic go up off the couch and looked around. The pizza boxes from the night before lay on the table, empty. _We went through three pizza's? Jesus. _Sonic thought. "How loaded were we last night?" Sonic asked to himself.

"Pretty loaded." Scourge said. "You can really put away the food when you've got the munchies, dude." He said laughing slightly. Scourge got up from the couch as well and headed to the bathroom. "If you're going to the kitchen, can you grab me a beer?" He asked. Sonic made his way into the kitchen, somehow avoiding tripping over anything in the process. "You sure do start early, don't you?" Sonic said.

"Yeah. But it's just to knock the dryness out of my mouth. Besides, I don't really drink. I try to stay in the best shape possible." Scourge said.

Sonic laughed. "Oh yeah. You're the epitome of health." He popped off. Sonic grabbed two bottles and walked back to the couch. He handed Scourge a bottle and took one for himself. Scourge took it, opened it and took a drink. "Breakfast of champions." He said, putting the bottle on the table and grabbing the remote for the TV. Sonic drank his own beer. And it was good. He had never been one to drink, always opting for water or a soda. But this wasn't too bad. Sonic set his bottle on the table and turned to Scourge. "So, do you remember what happened last night?" He asked. Sonic couldn't remember much. He only knew that they had pizza.

"So, you don't remember anything?" Scourge asked. "Really?"

"Nope. Only thing I remember is that we had pizza." Sonic said.

Scourge gave off a little laugh. "Man, where would you be without me? OK. I'll tell you. You're lucky I can remember all this."

Sally

A few minutes later, Sally opened her eyes. She was breathing rapidly, her muscles still tense, body tingling with delight. She had never had an orgasm like that before. She had come close with Sonic, but never with that kind of intensity and power. She felt as if she were floating on a cloud, wrapped in satin sheets. It was heaven. Her entire body was tingling and every muscle in her body was tense. After it was over, her muscles relaxed, starting at her feet and moving up her body until she was completely limp. Sally opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I needed that." She said. Sally sat on the edge of the bed and stretched. She felt rejuvenated and refreshed. Sally got up and walked over to the door when she heard a small knock. It was Tails.

"Sally?" Tails called out.

"Yes?" Sally replied.

"Is it OK if I come in?" He asked.

Sally gave herself a quick look over to try to make it look like she had just woken up. "Yeah." She said.

Tails opened the door and walked in. "Morning!" He said in a cheery tone. "You look good. Did you sleep good?" He asked.

Sally took one look at him and turned away. She could tell she was blushing. "Y-yeah." Was all she managed to get out.

"You OK Sally?" Tails asked. He started to walk over to her when Sally stopped him. "I'm fine. I was about to change though." She said, trying to get the Tails to leave so she could collect herself.

"Oh, sorry. I just heard a noise and thought something was wrong. Must've come from outside." Tails said, turning toward the door and walking out. Sally let out a long sigh. In the short time he had stood there, she didn't see him like she had before. She saw him as she did when he had got out of the shower. She let out a long sigh, trying to gather her thoughts. "Get hold of yourself girl. He's gonna know something's wrong if you don't when you go out there." She said to herself. Sally grabbed a set of clean clothes, put them on, opened the door and walked out.

Shadow

Shadow had been on the move since early in the morning and had managed to only make it a quarter of the way to Metropolis. "Damn. This is taking way to long for my tastes." Shadow stopped. He figured he would have at least reached the halfway point by now. Before he had started, he debated whether or not to use Chaos Control or not. On one hand he would be there in no time. But on the other, it would severely deplete his energy. It was a risk he was willing to take. He took his stance and closed his eyes.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" He yelled and shot of at the speed of light toward Metropolis.

Sonic

Sonic sat there and took in what Scourge had told him. "Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. You pissed off the pizza guy pretty good." Scourge said.

Sonic laid back on the couch, still sipping on his beer. "So, we were watching... static?" Sonic asked. "Guess we were." Scourge said, and turned it to a channel that picked up nothing. They both looked at the snow, only this time through sober eyes. There was nothing. No shapes. Nothing. "Huh. So why were we watching this again?" Sonic asked. "I got no idea." Scourge replied.

Sally

Sally walked into the dining room and found Tails in the kitchen, making breakfast. "Hey. You want anything?" Tails asked. This time Sally didn't turn away, but found it hard to talk to him. "Just a couple of eggs I guess." She said, and sat at the table. Tails turned his attention back to the task at hand. Sally sat at the table and held her head in her hands. She wasn't really even hungry. She just said whatever came to her head to try to buy herself a few more minutes to straighten herself out. _Ok, Ok. Calm down. Just let it go._

"Here you go." Tails said, placing a plate of eggs in front of her. "You OK?"

Sally looked at him. "Yeah. I'm OK. Thanks Tails."

Shadow

"So this Metropolis?" Shadow asked himself. It was even worse than he remembered. He had been here only once before, when he had teamed up with Sonic and Tails to fight Robotnik. At first, he refused like he always did. But Sonic eventually convinced him to join up with him. The outskirts of Metropolis were like every other hovel he had been to before. Run down and abandoned buildings were everywhere. Almost every corner had a dealer or hooker standing on it. The police were almost non-existent. They left people to fend for themselves. The gangs pretty much ran the town. The only time the police responded was when someone was killed. Shadow knew it would be a bad idea to run around blindly. He didn't want to piss anyone off in this kind of town. He looked around and saw a woman standing on the corner, looking around. "Might as well start with her." He said.

"Hey hon, you looking for a good time?" She asked. Shadow shuddered on the inside. "No. I'm looking for someone. You seen a blue hedgehog around here?"

The woman thought for a minute. "Yeah. He came through uh, last week sometime. Said he was looking for someone. Looked horrible too. Like he was in pain."

_Perfect._ "Do you know where he went?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah. He went to Scourge's. Sumbitch still owes me money." She gave him directions to Scourge's house. "You see that prick, tell him Rachel's looking for him." She said.

"I will. Thanks." Shadow said, and sped off.

Sonic

Sonic sat on the couch, taking in what he had done last night. He never imagined he could be that kind of person. "I guess I know what I'm capable of." He said.

"Being an a-hole apperently." Scourge popped off. Scourge reached out for the bag of weed and his pipe. "I'm gonna do another one. You want some?" He asked.

"Naw. I'm good." Sonic said, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels. A minute later the room was filled with smoke. It hung heavy and thick in the air, moving slowly through the air. Sonic sat there watching TV while at the same time breathing in the second hand smoke from Scourge. A few more minutes later, he got really hungry. He smiled slightly. His eyes were half closed. Even his body, all the way down to his bones, felt relaxed. Scourge turned to look at Sonic. "Heh, dude. You're stoned." He said laughing.

Sonic turned to look at Scourge. "No. I'm fine." He said before both of them burst out laughing. They both laughed for a good three minutes before either said anything. Scourge spoke first. "Yeah, you're high."

"Oh no. Call the cops." Sonic said. "I'm hungry as balls. You want anything?" Sonic asked as he walked into the kitchen to try to calm his rumbling stomach down. "I'll take another beer." Scourge said. The kitchen was pretty basic. Just a stove, refrigerator, sink and a couple of cabinets. Sonic opened the fridge. Nothing had changed since the last time he looked inside. "Guess it's a liquid breakfast." Sonic said, grabbing two more beer's and walking back to the couch.

Shadow

Shadow managed to find Scourge's house rather easily. "So _this_ is where he lives? What a piece of shit." Shadow said. The house looked run down just like the other houses in Metropolis. The house was painted in a faded lime green paint. The grass looked like it hadn't been cut in god knows when, coming up halfway Shadow's legs. Shadow walked up to the porch and knocked on the door.

"Who the hell's knocking on the door this time of day?" He heard a voice inside the house ask. A second voice said, "See if they brought food." _Sonic! _Shadow recognized his voice immediately. The door cracked open enough where Shadow could just see a pair of eyes. "What do you want?"

_This must be Scourge._ Shadow thought. "You Scourge?" Shadow asked.

He saw the eyes looking him over, as if he was sizing him up. "Yeah. What's it to you." Scourge asked, the tone in his voice lower that it had been when he opened the door. _Looks like he's trying to act tough. Well, let's see how tough he is. _"Well!" Scourge demanded.

"I'm looking for someone." Shadow said.

Scourge looked him dead in the eyes. "Well whoever he is, he ain't here. Now look, if you ain't here to buy sumthin' or blow me, you need to get the hell off my property! Got it?"

_That's it._ That was the last though that went through his head before he kicked the door in. It hit the wall behind it hard, leaving a dent in the wall where the doorknob had struck it. Shadow didn't kick it hard enough to break it off the hinges, just enough to scare Scourge. Scourge barely managed to get out of the way of the door before it had hit him in the face. He knew Scourge was the kind of person who couldn't fight and would beg for mercy at the first sign of trouble. Shadow walked in and saw Sonic sitting on the couch, Sonic's eyes wide with surprise. Shadow turned his attention back to Scourge. "Listen to me and listen to me good. You do anything to try and stop me, you'll be next." Shadow growled. Scourge just stood there, shaking, afraid to move. "Okay man, you're the boss."

Seeing Shadow standing in Scourge's house threw Sonic for a loop. He didn't think anyone would find him here, much less someone that he knew didn't give a damn about him. "S-shadow! What the hell are you..." Were all Sonic managed to get out before Shadow rushed him. Shadow had lost all control of his emotions. There was no stopping him. Before Sonic could react, Shadow grabbed Sonic by the throat and lifted him off the couch, pinning him against the wall. "Look you worthless piece of shit. What the hell is wrong with you?" Shadow demanded, his grip tightening slightly.

"What are you talking about?" Sonic managed to get out.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Sally. Do you know what kind of hell she's been going through that last week? She's cried every day since you left, she's hardly ate anything, it's been nothing but sleeping and crying. If it wasn't for Tails, she might have killed herself by now." Shadow growled, his grip getting tighter and tighter with every word. "Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your pitiful fucking life right here?" Shadow demanded. Sonic struggled to free himself from Shadow's grasp, but he wasn't nearly as strong as Shadow. Sonic felt his lungs begin to burn. His eyes grew heavy. "What would..." Sonic said, but came out only in a raspy, gurgling voice. Shadow released his grip just enough so Sonic could talk. "What did you say!" Shadow demanded?

"What...would...Sally...think" Sonic managed to say. Shadow realized if he didn't stop now, he would end up hurting Sally far worse than Sonic had. Hearing Sally's name snapped Shadow out of it. Shadow released his grip on Sonic and he fell to the floor on his butt, landing with a hard thud. Sonic looked at Shadow, his eyes wide. Sonic tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He knew Shadow didn't like him, but he had never done anything like this before. Shadow didn't say a word. He just glared at the hedgehog on the ground in front of him, doing everything in his power to keep himself from grabbing Sonic again. The black hedgehog got down on one knee and looked him in the eyes. "What was that for?" Shadow repeated, "That was for Sally. Now, I'll say this once. You've got two weeks to get your ass cleaned up and back to Sally where you can get your pitiful ass some help." Shadow leaned in close enough so there noses were almost touching. "If you don't, I'll come back and drag you home." Shadow said, getting off his knee and back to his feet. He turned toward the door, but stopped just inside. Shadow looked over his shoulder at Sonic. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone where you are. That is, if I feel like it." Shadow turned around and walked out the door, off the porch and shot down the street like a bullet.

Sally

Sally didn't say much as she ate. In fact it took everything she had for her not to lose it when she looked at him. She knew that she hadn't done anything wrong. What she had done was completely normal and everyone did. There was no shame in it. But the state she was in now couldn't rationalize it as easily. In her mind, she had cheated on Sonic. What would he say? She pushed her plate away and leaned back on the chair, trying to come up with something, anything to say.

"Finished?" Tails asked. When he spoke, it surprised Sally. "W-wha?" She said.

"Are you done? You sure you're OK?" He asked.

Sally got hold of herself enough to reply. "Yeah. Just weird waking up without Sonic." She said, which was a half-truth. "So what are you gonna do today?" She asked.

"I was thinking we could go out today. I know you haven't left the house in a week. Well, except when we all went out the other day." He said, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. "I thought we could go to Station Square for a couple of hours. You know get your mind off things here. Whad'ya think?" Tails asked. Hearing Tails' idea made her forget about what had happened earlier. "Sure." She said. "What's the worst that could happen? We have fun?" She asked jokingly as she got up from the table. "When do we go?" Sally asked.

"Whenever you're ready." Tails said.

"Well in that case, I'll get ready." She said.

Sonic

Sonic sat on the floor, trying to understand what had just happened. He wasn't expecting to be found out. He knew that no one else knew where Scourge was. He was the only one who knew where he lived. Sonic managed to pull himself off the floor and back into the groove he had made on the couch. Blue held his head in his hands, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably, trying to calm himself down. "Dude, you OK?" Scourge asked. Sonic didn't say anything.

Sonic was shaken up pretty bad. He knew Shadow didn't like him, but he had never actually shown violence toward him, much less attacked him until this moment. It took him by completely by surprise. His nerves were shot and he was on the verge of breaking down and crying like a baby. Sonic didn't move. "Come on, get up." Scourge said, but Sonic did nothing. He just stared at the wall. Scourge started to panic. _This can't be good._ He thought. "Come on, get up." He said, grabbing Sonic dragging him up on his feet and somehow managing to get him back on the couch.

Tails

Sally and Tails had been at the mall all day. He even bought her a few things. She tried to put up a fight but Tails didn't hear any of it. "Don't worry about it." And "No, no. I insist." Were all he kept saying every time she protested. After a full day at the mall they both went back to Sally's. She unlocked the door and Tails followed behind her, carrying the bags inside. "Where d'ya want 'em?" He asked.

"Just set them on the floor." She said. Tails set the bags on the floor. "Heh. Guess I bought you more than I thought." He said, rubbing his hands where the handles of the bags had left marks in his skin. Sally grabbed a couple of bags and walked into her bedroom. Can you help me move these in here?" She asked, walking in and setting them on the bed. "Sure." He said, grabbing a couple and taking them back where she was. He walked back to her bedroom and set them on the bed. Before he could walk out and grab the other two, Sally stopped him. "Wait, Tails." She said. She walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Thanks." She said. Tails gave her a small smile. "No prob..." He said, but was cutoff. Sally grabbed him suddenly, kissing him. They exchanged in this fashion for several seconds when Tails broke away. "What are you doing?" He asked. Sally was breathing heavily at this point. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She started to cry when Tails walked over to her and put his arm around her. Tails thought. "It's ok. Let's talk." He said, guiding her over to the bed and sitting down. "So what's going on?" Tails asked. He thought if he could get her to open up, he would find out what had made her do something like trying to make a move on her boyfriend's best friend.

Sally sat down next to him and let out a long sigh. "Look, Sally," Tails began, "I know that I'm not Sonic. But, I am a friend. And I can tell you there's something you need to talk about." He said. Sally looked at him, deciding whether or not to tell him what exactly was going through her mind. She looked at him again. "You...you won't say anything, will you?" She asked.

Tails looked back at her and gave her a smile. "Of course not." He said.

"OK." She said, wiping away the tears, taking a deep breath, and letting it out a second later. "I guess I should start..."

Scourge

Sonic sat there, staring at the wall, still shaking after what had happened. After all, it was the first time that Shadow had shown real aggression towards him and the first time he had attacked him. Sonic rubbed his neck where Shadow had grabbed him. It was sore and he could still feel Shadow's hand closing his airway. It was all he could think about. In fact, he didn't even notice Scourge sit back down beside him.

"HEY!" Scourge yelled, snapping his fingers in Sonics face. "You're freaking me out." Scourge said. He had never seen Sonic like this. His gaze transfixed on the wall across the room in an _almost_ catatonic like state. _That must've broke his fucking brain. And after all he went through with that psychotic bitch. It'd break anyone down. _He started to freak out. Nothing he did could snap Sonic out of the state he was in. After all, what did Scourge know about dealing with someone who had almost suffered a complete nervous breakdown? The worst he ever had to deal with was someone using the last of his stuff, something he never allowed. _What the hell do I do? Can't take him to a hospital. I don't think they could help. _"Come on dude, snap out of it!" Scourge yelled. It was pointless. Scourge thought for a minute when an idea came to him. It wasn't good, but it was better than just sitting there. Scourge got up and came back a minute later. "I didn't want to do this, but I don't know what else to do." He said, grabbing Sonic's arm.

Sally

"I guess that's everything." Sally said. Tails sat there, listening to her story, not judging in any way, like a true friend. Sally had told Tails everything. Why she made a move on him, her problems. Everything. "You're sure? There isn't anything else you want to talk about?" Tails asked.

"No. That's it." Sally said. Tails got up and walked over to the door and turned the knob. He opened the door and started to walk out when Sally stopped him. "Wait." Sally said. Tails stopped and turned around. "What?" He asked, stopping just inside the doorway. Sally opened her mouth, but no words came out. "What is it?" Tails asked. Sally looked away from Tails. She didn't know if telling him any more was a good idea or not. Sonic had been the only one she had ever opened up to, besides her mother, which she did every day up until she passed away just before the war had started. Tails shut the door and sat down beside her again.

"Actually, there is one more thing that I didn't mention earlier." She said. "It happened about four days after Sonic left. At the time, I didn't know what he was thinking. I don't know, I mean, I thought he would be back after a day. You know, give him some time to sort things out. And since it was him, I figured he'd be back after a day or two. The first and second day, I didn't think anything was wrong. I kept thinking, 'Oh, he'll be back tomorrow. He just needs more time.' But he didn't come back." Sally stopped long enough to collect herself. Tails sat there, listening to everything and taking it all in.

"Well, the third day after he had left, I guess he came back sometime early that morning because I found the other note." Sally said. "Wait." Tails said. "Other note? You mean he came back?" He asked. "He's left before, but that was to give him time to make a decision on something important that we had talked about. But I knew this time was different." She said, reaching into her dresser and pulling out the other note Sonic had left. Tails took it and looked it over. The first thing he noticed was that it was covered in dry tear drops. _Man, you'd think with all the crying she's been doing, she'd be dehydrated by now._ He thought. The second thing he noticed was that it wasn't a note, but a letter . It read:

Sally,

I know I've been gone the last couple of days and I know you've been worried about me, just like you always are. But first off, I'm ok. I know I haven't been the easiest person to get along with the past couple of weeks, I mean, I know and I'm sure you've obviously seen what I've been going through trying to get off the Phenotol that crazy bitch had me on. Well, I guess going through withdrawal will make anyone do the shit I've put you through. I know I've been an asshole even by an assholes standards, and all I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry with every fiber of my being and I know there's nothing I can do to make up for what I've done. Well, I've had a lot of time to think about everything and I've found the only solution that I could think of. I have to leave. Now before you get too upset, I want to make it clear that it's not you, it's me. I know that's been used to death, but it's me. I don't want to put you through anymore hell than I have already. I don't know where I'll go, but I do know that I won't hurt you anymore. I love you.

Sonic

Tails put the note down and looked at Sally. "So how long had he really been gone before you called us?" He asked. Sally didn't even hesitate. "Six days." She said. _SIX! Tails thought. "Why didn't you call us sooner?" He asked. _

"_I would have," She said, pointing at the letter Tails was holding. "But once I realized that he had left for good, I cried. That's all I did. I mean, I cried so much, after a while, it got to the point that I couldn't even make tears anymore." Sally stopped again, taking a deep breath before continuing. "After I realized Sonic wasn't coming back, I... I just lost it. I..." Sally had started to cry again. Tails put his arm around her. He tried to console her the best he could. "Are you OK? If you want to stop, I'm not going to force anything out of you." He said. Sally turned toward him. "No. I'll be fine. Well, after all that, once I finally realized Sonic was gone for good, I went into the kitchen, grabbed a chair, and I..." Sally stopped again and took another deep breath. "I tried to hang myself." Tails felt his heart sink into his stomach. "You... you tried to kill yourself?" He asked. He thought he had prepared himself for anything. But he couldn't have imagined that she would have done something like try to commit suicide. Tails looked at her, fighting back tears. "Why?" He asked. _

"_I didn't want to live without him. I thought that I'd rather be dead than live without him. Of course I know that now, but that's what I felt at the time." Sally smiled and took Tails' gloved hand in hers. "Do you remember when you called me the other day?" She asked. "Yeah. What about it?" Tails asked._

"_Well, when you called, I was on the chair with the rope around my neck, and just before I kicked the chair out from underneath me, you called. You saved me Tails." She said, smiling and crying not tears of sadness, but tears of joy._

_Sonic_

"_What the...!" Sonic yelled. He looked around to find he was on the couch now, his arm burning, Scourge sitting beside him, a worried look on his face and Shadow gone. "What the hell happened?" Sonic asked. Scourge breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! I didn't think you were gonna be alright." Scourge said. Sonic tried to remember what had happened, but the only thing that he remembered was that Shadow had been there one minute and the next he was sitting on the couch. "What happened?" Sonic repeated. He felt a sharp pain in his arm, looked down and saw the needle sticking out of his arm. He pulled it out and threw it on the floor. "What did you do? Why does my arm feels like it's on fire?" Sonic demanded. _

"_I didn't know what to do! You blanked out man. I did what I thought was best!" Scourge yelled. Sonic yelled back. "You did what you thought was best? Oh, so I guess taking me to a hospital is out of the question!" Sonic slumped down on the couch, trying to figure out what to do next. "So what the hell did you..." Sonic stopped mid-sentence when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was the needle Scourge had used. Sonic knew he was an addict and had come to accept it, but he swore that he would never turn to any drug that you needed to inject. He knew once you used something like that, it would be almost impossible to get off of them. Sonic didn't even look at Scourge. "What did you inject me with?" Sonic asked, but it came out garbled. Sonic fell on the couch, riding the most intense high he had ever been on. _

_End of 7_

_A/N: This one took me forever to do. The biggest problem I had was that I didn't know where to stop. I hope you guys and girls are enjoying this. One more thing, I don't get to read reviews until I upload another chapter since I can't get internet service where I live, and please point out any weak points you think there are. Thanks for reading. Please review._


	8. Resuscitation

A/N: Don't really have much to say this time, contains strong language and drug use. Rated M in case things get out of hand too much. Enjoy.

Chapter 8: Resuscitation

Scourge

Sonic slumped against the couch, limp and shaking slightly. Scourge grabbed him and shook him, calling his name, trying to get the hedgehog to respond to him. "Sonic!" Scourge kept repeating over and over again, but it had no effect. Blue did not respond, his head moving back and forth as Scourge shook him, eyes rolled to the back of his head. _What the fuck do I do now? _Scourge thought. He knew he had to act quickly and did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed the phone and dialed 911. "I don't give a damn if he doesn't like it, he needs help." Scourge said.

Sally and Tails

"Thank you." Sally said. Tails returned the hug this time. "Can you forgive me for what I tried to do earlier?" She asked. After Sonic had left suddenly, it did more to her psyche than she had realized. She was already in a fragile state when Tails had offered to stay with her and, his acts of friendship and kindness, combined with the abandonment she had felt made her lose what sensibilities she had managed to hold onto. Sally had felt better than she had in a while. Since Sonic wasn't there for her to talk to, her feelings had become bottled up inside, not able to escape. Tails had provided that part of her life for her, if even for one day. Tails stood up. "No problem." He said. "And don't worry. I won't tell anyone." He said, opening the door and closing it behind him.

Sally

Sally sat next to Tails, hugging him and crying. Sure, tears that had come before this had been a mix of sadness and happiness. The latter more than the former recently, but there was good reason. But in this moment, they were of relief. Relief that had been a long time coming. The proverbial weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she felt great. Sally dried her eyes and hugged Tails.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you." Tails returned the hug in the same fashion. "Hey, no problem. Do you feel better?" He asked as they broke away. Tails was finding it hard to believe that one of his closest friends had tried to do something like take there own life. If someone had asked him which one of his friends would try to do something like that, he would have bet on Shadow. It was getting easier to accept it, as the minutes passed, but not easy. He tried not to think about it, but his mind wouldn't stop dwelling on it. Tails managed to maintain enough so Sally wouldn't notice anything unusual. Even in the state she was in, she was still as sharp as ever. Sally gazed at him, a smile returning to her lips for the second time that day. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I just needed to get that out." She took a deep breath and let it out. "So, what now?" She asked, standing up. Sally felt like a new woman, like an animal that had been hibernating for winter and had just woken up, ready to tackle the spring. Tails stood up and took a step forward, his knee popping from having sat for a little too long. "I dunno." He said. "TV?" Tails asked, unsure on what to do next himself.

"Sounds good to me." Sally said, opening the door and walking out. Tails followed behind her and shut the door, a single tear falling from his face. Tails wiped it away quickly and closed the door behind him. The second the door closed, there was a knock at the front one.

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic was on Scourge's couch, slumped against the back, OD'ing for the second time in a year. The first having been when he was trapped with Amy, whom he had dubbed 'The Bitch'. The first time had been pleasant. It wasn't anything like he had heard about when someone OD'd. From what he had heard, it varied from person to person and case to case, but there were common elements. Extreme hallucinations, unconsciousness, seizures, foaming of the mouth and in some cases, stroke heart attack and death if too much of a chosen poison was ingested. Sonic tried to ask what was happening, but couldn't speak. The words just came out in some sort of weird moaning. He tried to move, but couldn't do that either. He looked around but couldn't see anything. His eyesight was effected to the point that it was like looking, as he could best describe it later on, through a piece of plastic wrap that had been smeared with a thin layer of petroleum jelly. This was due to his eyes rolling to the back of his head, but of course, he didn't know that at the time. Blue could make out, just enough, someone shaking him, trying to get him to respond. It was Scourge, who, for the first time in his life, was doing the right thing. Scourge had dialed 911. In this moment he had somehow managed to multitask. Managing to keep Sonic semi-conscious and talk to the dispatcher on the other end. Of course, for all Sonic knew, he was in floating in space on a magic carpet, but he knew someone or something was there, trying to get his attention, and even though he couldn't respond and he wanted to go to sleep worse than he ever had before, he knew that he had to stay awake to find out who they were and what they wanted. Meanwhile, out in the real world, Scourge was having a difficult time trying to keep Sonic awake and talk to the dispatcher.

"OK, sir, paramedics are on their way. Just keep him warm and awake until they arrive. Don't hang up until they get there, OK?" The woman on the other end asked. "OK." Scourge said, taking the phone away from his ear and holding it in front of his face. He hit the 'speakerphone' button and put it on the couch next to him so he could focus on Sonic and talk to the 911 operator at the same time.

It had been around seven minutes since Scourge had called for help and about eight minutes since Scourge had injected his friend with the syringe lying on the table in an attempt to snap Sonic out of the trance he had been in since Shadow had shown up and tried to kill him. He was losing the fight to stay awake. Scourge had to keep after him to make him stay awake. Sonic didn't look good. His skin had went from a healthy pink to almost white. His temperature had dropped and he was cold. Scourge grabbed a blanket that was nearby and covered Sonic with it. Of course, Scourge was not alone in this. He had the operator on the phone there with him. She had been talking him through the whole thing. "OK, sir, what's his pulse?" She asked. Scourge grabbed Sonic's arm and held two fingers on Sonic's wrist, but couldn't find one. This made Scourge panic. "Oh fuck, I can't find it!" He exclaimed. The woman spoke quickly. "Calm down. Usually in cases like this finding a pulse on the arm is difficult. Try his neck." She said. Scourge put his hand on Sonic's neck and felt. There was a pulse. It was weak but there was definitely one there. "I found it. It's weak, but there's one there." He said, breathing a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, Scourge heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. "Bout damn time. I think there here." Scourge said.

"OK sir. Since they're there, I'm going to hang up." The operator said. "OK." Scourge replied. "Thank you." He said. "No problem." She said. Scourge reached out, grabbed his phone and pushed the 'end call' button. Scourge got up and walked over to the door and opened it. The paramedics had already gotten out of their rig and had made there way over to the door. There were two of them. One carrying a bag and something that Scourge could only make out was a little TV. The other one was pulling a stretcher behind him. The one carrying the bag spoke first. "You the one who called?" He asked. Looking at this guy one would think he did anything other than helping people. He looked like the kind of person who would be working in an office or something similar. The one pulling the stretcher was built like a pro wrestler. He even looked like one. "Yeah, he's over there." Scourge said, pointing toward Sonic. No sooner had Scourge spoke, the two men made there way into the house and began to get to work. The one carrying the bag and monitor set them both down by Sonic. He turned to the other one. "Let's get to work." He said, grabbing Sonic and laying him down on the couch. The one that had been carrying the bags spoke to Sonic. "Sir, we're here to help you. My name's Randy and this is David. We're paramedics. Do you know where you are?" Randy asked. Sonic only mumbled something that Scourge couldn't make out even if he had been standing over him. The one called Randy put his arms underneath Sonic's head and shoulders and readied himself. The one named David reached under Sonic's legs and back and readied himself. David counted off. "On three. One, two, three!" On three, the two men lifted Sonic off the couch and onto the stretcher.

After they had moved Sonic onto the stretcher, the one named Randy turned to Scourge. "So what happened." He asked. "Oh, uh..." Scourge didn't know what to tell him. "I don't know. One minute he was fine and the next he just passed out." Scourge blurted out. Randy didn't hesitate. "Look man. Don't bullshit me. I don't know what happened here, but I know he didn't just pass out. If you don't tell me what happened, he could die." Randy said calmly, almost like he was saying hello or ordering food at the drive-thru. Scourge thought for a second and realized that he had no choice. After all, the last thing he wanted was a dead body in his house. He decided to tell Randy everything. "OK, long story short, I accidentally injected him with heroin. I thought it was Metrophin, but I grabbed the wrong needle." Scourge said. "Am I under arrest?" Scourge asked.

Randy looked at him. "Right now, no. If the cops were here, you'd probably be in the back of one of their cars. But unfortunately, we have bigger things to worry about right now. But just for the record, I think your ass should be thrown in jail for a loooong time." Randy said. That didn't surprise Scourge even a little. That was everyone's opinion of him. True, Scourge did have heroin in the house. But he never used it. He knew better than to use any drugs that required a needle. He only sold it and only when he needed a lot of cash really quick. The metrophin was given to him by a doctor to calm him down. It actually worked in two ways. When used on someone who was hysterical and screaming and not responding to anyone or anything, the drug acted like an anastetic, calming them down without knocking them out. On the other hand, if given to someone who was severely depressed to the point that they were in a state of shock like Sonic had been, it snapped them back to a normal state. Scourge had it for the latter use. Even though it hadn't been avalible to the public for very long, Scourge's doctor had managed to get him some.

Randy turned his attention over to Sonic. "He's OD'ing." David spoke for the first time. "What did he take?" He asked. "Heroin." Randy replied. Scourge walked over to where they were. During the time Randy was talking to him, David had been hooking up Sonic to the small monitor that Randy had been carrying. Scourge realized that it wasn't a TV, but a monitor used to watch a person's vital sign's. He also noticed that Sonic had been covered in small electrodes that were all over his body. Wires ran from the electrodes and over to the monitor. Scourge looked at the monitor. Sonic's heart rate was at 31. Scourge wasn't a doctor, but he knew that wasn't good. David turned to Scourge again. "Is heroin the only thing in his body?" David asked.

"He also had two beers, and smoked a little pot before this." Scourge told him. _Better to be honest than something bad happen to him._ "And that's all?" David asked. "Yeah. That's it." Scourge said. David turned his attention back to Sonic. "Get the Detromiacin." He said. By this time Sonic had almost lost consciousness. His eyes were closed and his breathing had become shallow and fast. David pulled a needle out of the bag and handed it to Randy. "Sir, if you can hear me, I'm going to inject you with something that should clear the heroin out of your system." Randy said. "So what exactly does that stuff do?" Scourge asked. "When it enters the body, it basically grabs on to whatever is in your system at the time and nullifies the effects. Think of it like Drain-O for your body." Randy said. He didn't even look at Scourge. He was too busy with the task at hand. He grabbed Sonic's arm and found a vein. Randy stuck the needle in and pressed down on the plunger until it was empty. That was when things started to go wrong.

Sally & Tails

"Hold on." Sally said, getting off the couch and walking over to the door. Her voice this time was calm and happy, not sad and empty. Of course, she still missed Sonic, even though she showed no sign of it on the outside, she still missed Sonic. Much of her problems from the last week had been depression and shock from Sonic leaving suddenly. But talking to someone and letting everything out into the open had almost returned her, for now. To the way she had been before, minus Sonic. On the outside, she was happy, as well as a little on the inside. Her yearning for Sonic had been eased a little due to Tails. Sally opened the door and found Shadow on the other side. "Shadow? What's going on?" Shadow was the last person she expected to show up at her door, unannounced and under his own power at that. "Is Tails still here?" He asked. _As always, straight to the point. Would it hurt you to say hello? _

"Yeah. Tails? Shadow wants to talk to you." Sally said, moving away from the door so Tails could talk to Shadow. "What is it?" Tails asked. He had almost forgot that Shadow had gone out again to look for Sonic. "Did you find him?" Tails asked. The anticipation was killing him.

"Let's go someplace where she can't here." Shadow said quietly, walking out further into the yard. "Yeah. I did find him." Shadow said. That sentence hit Tails like a bolt of lightning. "REALLY!" Tails exclaimed. Shadow quickly put his hand over Tails mouth. "Keep it down! I don't want her knowing, remember?" Shadow said. Tails managed to calm himself enough to talk without yelling. "So where is he!" Tails asked, exited that his best friend had been found and safe above all. "He's in Metropolis living with Scourge."

That took Tails by surprise. On one hand, he was glad that Sonic was safe. But on the other, he didn't know Scourge was anywhere close. In fact, no one had heard from him for almost seven years. But of course, none of that really mattered. Tails wanted to go after Sonic right then and there but Shadow stopped him. "Relax. I know you want to go after him, but I already have a plan. I gave him two weeks to come back on his own." Shadow said. Tails didn't understand. "Why two weeks?" He asked. "Well, first, I was going to drag him back here myself, then I realized that he'd just run away again. Then, I was gonna give him just a week, then I realized that he'd think I was joking, so I gave him two."

Tails slowly realized that Shadow was right. No matter how badly he wanted to go after Sonic and bring him home, he knew that it would only make Sonic fight it more. It had to be on Shadow's terms and his terms alone. Shadow was the only one who could make Sonic do anything by force. "One more thing before I leave. Don't tell Sally. No matter what, don't tell her. I don't want her to know yet. I don't think she could handle it the way she's been." Shadow said. Of course, he didn't know that she had come clean with Tails earlier that day. Tails wanted to tell Shadow what had happened between Sally and himself earlier, but knew better. It was confidential after all. Shadow started to walk away when Tails spoke again. "Where you going?" He asked. Shadow stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I'm gonna tell Knuckles." He said and shot down the road.

Sonic & Scourge

The Detromiacin worked its way into Sonic's bloodstream, grasping on to the drugs in his system and clearing it out. Sonic's pulse went from 31 to 62 quickly. His blood pressure also came up from 40/20, which meant he was in trouble, to70/62, which was by no means good, but a good sign. "OK." Randy said, " I think he's gonna be OK. It should take a few minutes for the Detro to make its way around his system and clean him out. Were gonna leave him hooked up just in case anything should go wrong."

Scourge breathed a sigh of relief. For the second time today, he managed to avoid disaster. Scourge sat down by Sonic and waited. He tried to make small talk but couldn't think of anything to say. It had been about four minutes since Randy had given Sonic the Detromiacin. Randy looked at David and made a motion over Sonic. "Look's like he's gonna be all right. Let's get this stuff off of him." Randy said. David reached out to pull the electrodes off of Sonic when he the monitor flat lined. No pulse, no blood pressure. Nothing. Scourge's eyes grew twice their size. Sonic had stopped breathing. "What happened!" Scourge demanded. Randy quickly checked for a pulse but couldn't find one. "Damn! Cardiac arrest! Get the defib ready." Randy yelled. Scourge moved out of the way so the two could focus on Sonic. David reached into the bag and pulled out four flat, plastic packages. With the precision of a surgeon, he opened each one of them in less than 15 seconds. He picked one up and held it in front of him. It was flat and black from what Scourge could tell. David rolled Sonic on his side and put it against his back. He did the same thing again, but to the other side of Sonic's back. They rolled him on his back again and put two more on Sonic's chest. "What're those for?" Scourge asked, afraid to ask, but of course, curiosity got the best of him. Randy didn't even turn to look at him, too focused on the task in front of him. "Their Defibrillator pads. When we admin the shock, it'll go through the top pads, through his heart and into the pads on his back. If we didn't put those there, the shock would go through his entire body instead of his heart." Scourge began to realize that things were bad. For the first time in his life, he dropped to his knees and began to pray silently.

Randy reached over and turned on the defib machine. He took the paddles and squeezed a small amount of gel on the paddles to make the shock more precise. David flipped a few switches and turned a knob on the front of the machine. It came to life with a high pitched whine. "Charge to 350." He said. David turned the charge knob to 350 and waited for a second. The machine beeped, letting its user know that it was roaring and ready to go. Randy placed the paddles on Sonic's chest. One on the right side, just above the nipple line and the other half on Sonic's chest and the other half on Sonic's side. The paddles settled against Sonic's fur as Randy readied to hit the 'DISCHARGE' button.

"Clear!" Randy yelled. David moved away from Sonic and Randy hit the button. As he did, the slight noise of electricity humming could be heard. The shock made Sonic's entire body tense up and quickly went limp again as the current passed through his body. The monitor Sonic was hooked up to showed no sign's of life, with the exception of the shock making his heart jump. There was just a flat line followed by the steady flat line tone of the machine. "Dammit. Chare to 450." Randy yelled. David turned the charge knob to 450 and waited. The machine made a gradual whining noise signaling that it was charging. A second later, the whining disappeared signifying that it was charged again. Randy called out "Clear" and discharged the energy into Sonic's body. Again, his body tensed and flopped down again. Once more, the monitor showed no progress. Scourge, on his knees, watching the only person he ever considered and thought of as a friend, lay there dying on his couch. It was too much for Scourge and he began to cry. "Oh god, what the hell did I do?" He asked no one. Randy shocked him over and over but it wasn't having any effect. He stopped and looked at David. "What the hell? He should have come out of it by now. What the..." Then it hit him. _This guy can move. His heart's used to taking more punishment than anyone else._ Randy reached over and turned it up to full. The charge whine was louder than it had been the last few times. "It's gonna take everything it's got." He said. "Stand back." David got up and backed away about a foot, not wanting to take any chances. Randy readied one last time. "It's this or nothing. Clear!" All three held their breath as Randy hit the button.

Tails & Sally

Tails walked back to the house and stood on the porch. It was what was referred to at the 'Magic Hour'. It wasn't too hot or cold. The sun was setting but not completely down yet, casting a pale orange yellow across the horizon. The sky above him was a light blue. The shadows had begun to fade away for the day but not entirely. It was the perfect end to a good day. Sure, his best friend had confided that she tried to commit suicide, but in turn, it had made her better. Getting all that stress off her mind had brought her almost brought her around to the person she was a week ago. Naturally, Sonic was the only one who could make her whole again, but it was a major improvement over who she had been. Tails stared out into the distance and smiled.

"So what did Shadow want?" Sally asked. Tails jumped, not expecting Sally to be behind him. "Oh... you startled me. What did you say?" Tails asked. He had heard her, but he was stalling for time trying to come up with something that Sally would believe. "What did Shadow want?" She repeated.

"Oh, he just wanted to know if Knuckles had been by." Tails said. He was surprised he was able to come up with an excuse so quickly. "Really?" She asked. "That doesn't sound like him."

Tails didn't even hesitate this time. "I guess Knuckles told him he was going to go out and look for Sonic a while back and I guess he wanted to check up on him or something. I don't know." He said. _That was close. _He thought. Tails walked back into the house and shut the door.

Sonic & Scourge

Randy pushed the 'DISCHARGE' buttons on both defibrillator paddles and the shock which was stored up inside was released, coursing it's way through Sonic's body. It made him tense up harder and longer than he had before. In fact, it lasted for a whole three seconds. Once it had made it's way through; his body came down on the cushions, released from the grip of the electric shock. All three waited, breath held, hoping for any sign of life. A few seconds later the monitor began to beep faintly. His pulse began to grow stronger with every second that went by. Thirty seconds went by and his pulse was up to 100. Slow for someone who could run at almost the same speed. His blood pressure had returned to normal. All three breathed a sigh of relief. _Oh thank God. _Scourge thought, wiping away the tears.

A few minutes had passed without anything noticeable happening. Sonic was breathing and his vital signs were getting stronger with every passing moment. Both Randy and David both watched over Sonic, making sure nothing was going to go wrong. Scourge stood nearby, waiting for Sonic to open his eyes, watching for any signs of life. "How long do you guys think before he opens his eyes?" Scourge asked.

David looked at him. "I don't know. He's had a pretty rough time. Normally, we'd take him to a hospital, but since he can't talk for himself, and you're not family, we really don't have a choice. You're not family are you?" David asked. Scourge thought about saying yes; take him so he can get help. But he quickly realized that would do no good. What would happen when Sonic finally woke up? For one thing, he'd probably be pissed that he was in a hospital and still pissed that Scourge had accidentally, for once in his life, given him a dose of a potent drug and not what had been intended. And two, Sonic's friends would know where he was. Scourge couldn't understand why he was so worried about that. Why run away from that kind of life? He knew something had happened a while back and he had been having problems since then, but he didn't ask about it. He figured they were the kind of problems that were best kept to oneself and only talked about with someone very close. He thought it was best not to ask. Scourge didn't want to mess things up any worse than he already had. "Hey! You OK?" David asked, snapping his fingers in front of Scourge. Scourge jumped a little. He had been lost in thought, not the first time today. "Oh, wha- sorry. No, I'm just a... friend." Scourge said. _At least I hope I still am. _

"Looks like we have no choice." David said. "We have to take him-"

"What's going on?" A weak voice asked. It was Sonic.

Knuckles

Five days had passed since anyone had contacted Knuckles to give him any news about Sonic. After he had left Sally's the last time he had been with any of them, he had gone out to look for Sonic just like he had said, but found no trace of him. He decided it would be better if the rest of them would look for him. After all, they didn't have to guard a giant emerald on a floating island. A normal person would have given up a long time ago, but he didn't have that luxury. Knuckles was descended from a long line of guardians that had inhabited the island long ago. It was his task and his task alone to make sure that no one stole the emerald and use it for their evil intentions. Robotnik (Does anyone think Eggman is a weird name for him? I'm still not used to it.) had tried several times to use it for his own purposes, but Sonic and the rest of his team had helped defeat Robotnik every time. He was grateful for there help too. If it wasn't for them, he wasn't sure that he could defeat Robotnik by himself. Knuckles had fallen under Robotnik's spell once and vowed to never let him do it again. In the five days that had passed, he had not heard a word from anyone. The only time he had talked to anyone was when he called to let Sally know he had been unsuccessful in his attempt to find Sonic.

Of course, it wasn't like he was tethered to the island; he was free to leave whenever he wanted. Even more so since Tails had put in a heavy-duty security system on the island to guard the emerald. Tails did it in just three days. Knuckles tried to stop him, claiming that he didn't need it and that he preferred to do the job by himself without the help of machines, but Tails, as always, knew that Knuckles needed this. Eventually, Knuckles agreed to let Tails install the system on the island, and afterwards, he was free to come and go, thanks to a small device, which allowed him to watch the island remotely. "Thanks Tails. I guess now I can have more free time to myself." Knuckles said. Inside, he couldn't be happier. Half of him was finally able to have more free time away from the island, just getaway once and again. The other wasn't. The other half didn't like the idea of being away from the island for more than a day or two at the most. After all, this was his lineage. But eventually, he decided it was for the best. "Let me ask you something." Knuckles said. "How did you know I was lying?" Tails grinned. "Well, I've been told it's due to my IQ." Tails said. "Oh yeah? What is it?" Knuckles asked. Everyone knew Tails was super smart, but no one ever thought to ask what his IQ was. "Don't be surprised at the answer." Tails said. "Ooookay." Knuckles replied.

"I've been told it's around 285." Tails said. Knuckles jaw hit the ground. Yeah, he knew Tails was smart, but he never pictured the kid had a 285 IQ. "R-really?" Knuckles asked. "Yeah. But the doctors think it might be more. They found out it fluctuates anywhere from 270 to around, let me think..." Tails trailed off, his head in his hand. "305." Knuckles couldn't believe what he had just heard. "305? I didn't think a person could have an IQ that high." Knuckles said, shocked that someone so small could have a brain that big. "I know. I try to hide it as well as I can. I mean, I don't want to be one of those a-holes that have a high IQ and flaunt it in everyone's face. Well anyway, to answer your question, I knew you were lying because I can tell when someone's lying. It's a natural gift."

From that day forward, he never looked at Tails the same way again. Of course, he didn't think he was a freak or anything like that. Before, he just thought he was a normal kid who had a gift at building robots. But once he knew that he had an extraordinarily high IQ, his respect grew even more.

"Damn. You'd think they'd call and let me know what the hell was going on." Knuckles said. Of course, he himself hadn't bothered to call anyone else either, but he wasn't going to admit that. "Maybe I should call someone." He said. Knuckles headed inside the small house when he heard a voice from behind him speak. "That won't be necessary." It said. It was Shadow.

Sonic

"What's going on?" Sonic asked. His voice came out raspy and quieter than normal, still with the same Sonic attitude, just dampened a little. Sonic tried to sit up but he felt someone keeping him from doing so. "No. Lie down." The voice said. Sonic couldn't make out who was talking. His vision hadn't cleared up yet. It was getting better, but it would take a little time. "Dude! You're alive!" Another voice said. Sonic felt a pair of arms embrace him and hug. _I think I know who that is._ Even in the state he was in, Sonic could tell that it was Scourge. "Ease up. Give him a minute before you go falling all over him." Another voice said.

"Sorry." Scourge said. "I'm just happy he's alive." _Alive? What the hell are they talking about?_ Sonic tried to sit up again, but he felt someone hold him down again. "Just lie there a minute." He said. Sonic felt the pair of hands release there hold on him. "Well, it's a good sign that he's awake, but he's not out of the wood's yet." Another voice said. Sonic had no idea what was going on. "Would someone tell me what's going on?" Sonic repeated. He heard Scourge speak. "I guess you do deserve to know." Scourge sat down next to Sonic. His vision had cleared and he was able to see clearer now. He couldn't see at 100%, but at least he could make out whom he was talking to. "Can I at least sit up?" Sonic asked. He saw two men standing over him. One was watching a monitor and the other watching him. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." The one watching him said. Both men helped Sonic to a sitting position. By now, Sonic's vision had almost returned. It was still a little fuzzy, but he was able to recognize faces. "Now will someone tell me what the hell's going on?" Sonic asked. "And why I'm covered in electrodes?" Scourge shifted a little and took a breath. "I'll tell you. Just promise you won't get mad." He said. Sonic took that as a bad sign. _What did he do to me now? Scourge told Sonic everything that had happened while he was unconscious. Sonic didn't say a word until Scourge had finished. "Finished?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Scourge knew that he had messed up bad this time. Fortunately, it wasn't has bad as it could be. Sonic turned his body where he was almost facing him. Sonic placed a hand on Scourge's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "So you tried to save me?" Sonic asked. Scourge hesitated for a second. "Y-yeah. It was an accident. I'm sorry, man." Scourge said. He was surprised Sonic didn't try to kill him right there. Sonic didn't break his gaze. "Yeah, I know it was just an accident. And so is this." Scourge didn't react until just after Sonic's fist connected with his face._

_Shadow_

"_Hey red." Shadow said. 'Red' had become Knuckles new nickname recently. It started with Sally and it had stuck ever since. Knuckles didn't like it at first and in fact hated it. But the more everyone used it, the more he became used to it. "Oh, hey Shadow. What brings you by? It's not like you to-" _

"_Drop by unexpectedly? Yeah, well this is important." Shadow said. "I found Sonic." Shadow said bluntly. Knuckles eyes widened. "You did? Where is he?" Knuckles asked. He wasn't expecting that to come out of Shadow's mouth or those words to come out of Shadow ever. "He's in Metropolis, living with Scourge, doing God knows what." He said. "So what're we waiting for? Let's go get him." Knuckles said. _

"_Hold on." Shadow explained to Knuckles what he had told Tails. Knuckles thought about it and decided that was probably the best thing to do. After all, he couldn't come up with anything better. "You're not going to tell Sally are you?" Shadow asked. "I'll tell you if you answer a question for me." Knuckles said. Shadow just glared at him. "Hmm. What?" _

"_You have a thing for Sally?" This time Shadow's eyes doubled in size. "What? No. It's just, she's been through a hell of a lot lately and I don't know if she could handle that fact. I figure that if we tell her, ok. She's happy and everything, and she goes to see him, right? Okay, now say he doesn't want to leave and he tells her to get lost. Everything she's been through, she'd probably go straight home and kill herself. I don't want to see that happen to anyone let alone to her. You see what I mean?" Knuckles thought about Shadow's plan again. "Yeah. I guess your right. So what do we do now?" Knuckles asked. "I'll let you know in a two weeks." Shadow said and took off, leaving Knuckles to his thoughts._

_Sonic_

_Sonic's fist connected with Scourge's face and he felt a lot better. "That was for almost killing me. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you? I was just stunned! I wasn't in a fucking coma! What were you thinking?" Sonic demanded. Scourge just sat there, rubbing his face where Sonic's fist had connected. He wasn't surprised that Sonic had hit him. In fact, he was relieved. It meant he was back to normal. The two paramedics just stood there and watched the whole thing unfold. Finally Randy spoke up. "Uh, I know this is a bad time, but, uh, you need to go to the hospital with us so we can check you out better. I mean, you're fine for right now, but we don't know if there's gonna be any long-term effects from this." Sonic turned his attention from Scourge to the two medics that just saved his life. "Look. I appreciate what you did." Sonic was able to keep his cool, but it wasn't easy. "But I'm fine. I'm not going to any hospital." Sonic said and turned his attention back to Scourge. "I understand, but you-" Randy was cutoff by David. "No Randy. He's about ready to explode. We need to go and go now before thing's get out of hand." David said, grabbing as much as he could carry and quickly making his way to the door, Randy following behind him. David shut the door behind him and let out a long breath. _

"_Oh, that was close." He said, walking over to the ambulance and putting the stuff he was carrying into the back, not even bothering to put it in carefully. He walked around and opened the driver's side door and Randy climbed into the passenger seat. "Look Dave, he needs a doctor. We need to-" David cut him off again. "You don't think I know that? I want to go back in there and grab him and throw him in the back and drag his ass down to the hospital myself. But did you see the look in his eye? That was the look of a man about to explode. If one of us had said the wrong thing while we were in there, he would have come unglued on one of us." David turned the key, started the engine and drove back to the hospital._

_Sonic just glared at Scourge, not saying a word. Scourge hadn't been more scared than he had ever been before. "I-" Scourge tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. Sonic walked over to where Scourge was on the couch. "Right now, I don't want to hear a word out of you. You fucked up bad this time. This isn't like you giving me some bad pot or any of the shit you've done to me since I've been here. This time, I almost died because of your stupid ass." Scourge was shaking uncontrollably by this point, heart pounding. "I know you tried to help me and I know you messed up." Sonic said, shrugging his shoulders, his voice cold and filled with rage but at the same time not showing it, his mind still clear in the rage he was feeling at the moment. Sonic was the type of person to be able to see things clearly no matter what emotion he was feeling at the moment. That's what made him so revered during the war. "But right now, I'm this close to losing it and snapping your neck like a fucking twig." Sonic said, holding up a hand, his finger and thumb almost touching. "Now, here's what you're gonna do. When I say go, you're going to get up and go to your room until I know I'm completely calmed down. It shouldn't be more than an hour. I don't care what you do, just don't let me see you. Got it?" Sonic asked. Scourge was absolutely petrified. The shaking got so bad, he thought he might fall off the couch. Scourge nodded, not saying a word. "Go." Sonic said. As soon as those words left his mouth, Scourge jumped over the back of the couch, sprinted to his room and locked the door behind him. Sonic turned around, grabbed the remote, turned on the TV and just stared._

_A few minutes had passed and Sonic had calmed down, but only slightly. He looked on the table in front of him. He noticed that Scourge had left everything that he had brought out since Sonic had passed out. Scourge's pot, pipe, empty needle that he had used on Sonic, and two hard plastic cases. Both were black and neither was labeled. Sonic reached for the bag of pot and the pipe. He filled the bowl and lit it, inhaling the smoke and exhaling. The rage he had felt now melted away. "Oh man." Sonic said, quietly enough so Scourge couldn't hear him. He decided to let him sweat for a while. Sonic opened up one of the black cases. On the inside was a small label that said 'Metrophin'. Also inside was an insert. Sonic opened it up and read it. He realized Scourge had tried to do the right thing for once. He knew that in certain cases, Metrophin could be used like a double-edged sword. On one hand, calming down someone who was hysterical and on the other, relieving the effects of extreme depression. Sonic leaned back on the couch, letting these new facts sink in. He had been a state of shock like he had earlier only once before. The night he had woken up from the dream he had about Amy. _

_Sonic put the insert back into the case that had the Metrophin and closed it. He picked up the case with the heroin in it and looked it over. It looked identical to the Metrophin case. He opened it and the inside was identical to the inside of the Metrophin case right down to the needles. They were exactly the same, except that the one with the heroin didn't have a label with the word Metrophin inside. Sonic closed the case and set it back down on the table. He grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, the rage he had felt earlier completely gone by now. He kept flipping through the channels, hoping he could find something decent to watch. "Oh sweet. Spongebob." He said. He set the remote down and packed another bowl. He lit up and set the pipe back down on the table. He leaned back against the couch again and blew the smoke out. "Guess I'll get him after this goes off." Sonic said._

_A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. Please review. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I know I don't respond when you guys review (well, there was one person I replied to), but it's only because the library where I upload these only let's people have so much time for one day, and I haven't had the time to check my e-mail when I do. But from now on, I'm gonna make sure I have the time. Thanks again._


	9. Nine

Nine

A/N: I took a look at my profile the day I uploaded the last chapter and I was surprised to find the number of hits this story has gotten. Thanks for that. Also, I couldn't think of a good name for this chapter so I went with Nine. Let me know what you would have called it. Thanks. Rated M. Enjoy!

Tails

Tails sat back down next to Sally. Luckily, she had bought the lie. Tails let out a sigh of relief. He had always been a pretty convincing liar when he needed to be. He didn't like to; he found it an off-putting characteristic in people. It was like his father always told him: 'Trust the word of a liar as far as you could throw him.' He would always say. Tails didn't understand what he meant until he was older. His father always had little sayings that only now he began recognizing there true meaning. Tails couldn't remember much about his father or mother. He did know that he was adopted. His parents had left him with an orphanage when he was just five, unable to take care of him themselves. They had left a letter to be given to Tails _only_ when he reached a certain age. His biological parents had told the headmistress of the orphanage their story. They were both very poor and were unable to raise a child on what little money they both had, unable to even feed themselves at times, much less a child.

They both made the decision to give Tails up in the hopes of a better life. Once he reached the appropriate age, the headmistress had told him everything about his biological parents. She was a kind woman. Never too strict with any of the children. Of course she did punish, but it wasn't harsh and the children had grown up respecting her for it. They had even given her the nickname 'Grandma'. At first, he didn't believe it. 'Who would let there only child be put into a place like this?' He thought. It wasn't the ideal place to raise children. The entire building was falling apart, cracks in the walls, holes in the ceiling, the usual stuff that happened to a building that suffered less than routine upkeep. During the winter, it was common for the roof to leak heavily in the common room, which was just a giant room filled with beds and children. When it did rain, which wasn't very often no matter the season, the water would make its way into the room, covering the floor with a layer of water. Not a problem until you had to get up to go to the bathroom.

He couldn't understand why his parents had left him in a place like this. 'How could anyone be so cruel?' He often asked himself. He had only been there a year until a couple had come looking to adopt. It was the standard routine. Everyone was marched out for inspection. Sure it was embarrassing, but worth it if you were chosen. The couple knew this wasn't a pleasurable experience for the children or themselves as well. They didn't like choosing a child in this fashion. It had been the same in the last two orphanages' they had been to. Unable to conceive children of their own, they went with the only option available to them. Both looked the children over lined up before them. This was the last orphanage around and they were both tired of looking. Of course, it didn't help that the kids they had seen before weren't the most behaved or polite. This orphanage seemed different. The kids were well behaved and clean, despite their surroundings. The headmistress was kind, not like the others they had met earlier. She wasn't forceful or deceitful. They had found a girl they both wanted in a place they had been in earlier, and when they tried to adopt her, the headmistress of that facility tried to persuade them to take another child with them.

They were both about to give up when they came upon Tails. Tails' eyes locked with the man's eyes. He didn't look away. He noticed the one's that were adopted the most were the ones that made eye contact. He also noticed that it took the right amount of confidence as well. The man got down on one knee, his hands folded on the one in front of him.

"What's your name?" The man asked. _Is he talking to me? _Tails thought. In the year that he had been in the orphanage, every couple that had come looking to adopt had never given him a second look, what with the two tails he had. He had even begun to experiment using them, seeing how long he could stay up in the air. At first it had only been for a few seconds. Over time, he improved his newfound ability, able to stay in the air for minutes at a time. The most being almost fifteen minutes.

Tails was caught off-guard by the man's question, but he managed not to let it show on his face. "My name's Miles." He replied, confidently. He also noticed that every one that went before him had been confident, but not too confident. They presented themselves in a way that said: 'I want to go with you, but if you don't choose me, that's OK.'

"Miles, huh? Hi Miles, my name's Steve and this is Mary." Steve said gesturing a hand towards the woman standing beside him. Mary put her hand up and gave a small wave. "Hi Miles." She said. Tails returned the gesture in kind. "Hi." He replied. Steve got up off the floor and rejoined his wife. They both turned to each other and began whispering in each other's ears, almost as if they were deciding Tails' fate, which ironically was happening. They both stopped and turned to the headmistress. "We've decided." They said in unison.

The headmistresses' eyes lit up. It was always a joyous occasion when one of the children was adopted. It meant three things. One, money for the orphanage. The state provided a large amount to an orphanage that had a couple adopt one of its children. Two, it meant the child or in the rare case, children that were adopted, were given a better life than the orphanage could provide, and three, a couple could have a child to call their own.

The headmistress motioned for the couple to follow her. "Well follow me and we'll get the paperwork started." She said. The couple followed behind her, happily anticipating time with their new son. After the three had left, Tails let out a long sigh. Finally, he was about to leave. He started to make his way over to his bed to start packing his belongings when the other children had gathered around him. There were about twenty children in the room including Tails, and most of them were older than he was, ranging anywhere from 5 to 17 years old. Once a child had hit eighteen, they were told that they could not stay there any longer since they were considered an adult.

The kids that were in the room with Tails circled around him, making escape impossible. Tails looked around nevously, trying desperately to find an escape route, but there was none to be had. "What makes you so special?" One asked. "Yeah. We're just as good, so why are you so damn special?" Another asked. Tails began to panic. This was the first time had ever saw them react in this manner whenever one of them was adopted. Sure, they were all disappointed, but they had never acted like this. A boy standing behind him started laughing. "Hey, you guys think we should do something special for Miles before he leaves forever?" He asked. Another responded. "Oh yeah."

They all rushed him at once. Tails shut his eyes and prepared for the barrage of punches that he was about to receive. But he felt none. They grabbed Tails quickly and began tossing him up into the air in a joyous celebration, happy that one of them was finally leaving. Tails realized what were happening and his fear quickly melted into joy. He had never felt as accepted has he had at that moment. Of course, it wasn't like he had no friends there. He knew everyone that was there, some more that others. The laughter in the room had not been heard for a long time, and after tossing him up and down for a few minutes they finally let him down. Tails didn't want it to end. He righted himself and looked around at the sea of faces looking back at him. The faux anger that had been on there faces had been replaced with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"Hey Miles, you better get your stuff ready. They should be coming back soon." The oldest one said. The ring of kids that surrounded Tails had parted so he could gather his stuff. He walked over to his bed and reached under it and pulled out a box that was his 'closet'. He opened it to make sure everything was still inside it and it was. There wasn't much in it. Just a few clothes that had been given to him by Grandma and a couple of books. Tails shut the lid and looked up. One of the older boys that were there was standing in front of him on the other side of the bed. "Come with me." He said. He was unsure what the boy's motives were, but curiosity got the best of him. He followed the boy over to where his bed was. His name was Robert, but everyone called him 'Judge'. He earned the nickname since everyone came to him to solve their problems when Grandma wasn't around. They both stopped by the foot of Judge's bed. "So what's going on?" Tails asked.

Judge looked at him and smiled. "All right everyone, you know the drill. Turn around and cover your ears." He said. "What the..." Tails wondered out loud. This was something new to him. Judge got down on the floor and crawled under the bed. Tails heard something open and Judge grunting. A minute later he pulled a box out from underneath the floor. He picked it up and placed it on the bed. He opened it and Tails couldn't believe his eyes. It was filled with every kind of treat imaginable. Cookies, candy, soda. Stuff that outside the walls of the orphanage were everyday things. But in that place, it was a rare treat. Tails couldn't believe that someone had something like this underneath their bed. "Where did you get this?" He asked.

Judge looked at him. "I guess there's no harm in telling you. The five of us that are oldest, including me, sneak out at night and take this stuff. We get tired of the same crap that Grandma feeds us and we need something different. I know it's not her fault. I mean, she does her best with what she has, but we need change every now and then. Wouldn't you agree?" Judge asked. Tails thought about it and agreed with him. After all, one would go crazy doing the same thing day after day. "That's what I thought. Go get your stuff." He said. Tails turned around and walked over to his bed. He grabbed his box of belongings and walked back over to where Judge was standing. "Open it." Judge said. Tails did as he was told. Judge grabbed a handful of candy and threw it in, along with a small pack of cookies and a soda. "What're those for?" Tails asked. The only time anyone of them got anything like this, it was during their birthday. Judge looked at him and smiled. "Think of it as a going away present." Judge said. He closed the lid on the box and crawled back under the bed and placed the box back in it's hiding place. "There we go. Don't tell anyone I have that." Judge said. "Tell them what?" Tails said and smiled. Judge didn't say a word and turned his attention toward the group of kids on the other side of the room. "Okay everyone. You can turn around now." He said loud enough so they could hear.

The group turned around and faced Tails and Judge. "Damn man. Just what the hell you have over there?" One boy asked. Judge gave him a sharp look. "Just never you mind." He said. Tails and Judge headed back over to the group when Grandma and his new parents walked back into the room. Grandma smiled at him, a mix of both happiness and sadness on her face. She didn't even try to hide her feelings. "Well Tails, good news, looks like these good people want to take you with them. You'd better gather your things." She said, a tear rolling down the side of her face. "Okay." Tails said. The fox walked over to the bed he had slept in for the last year. He reached out for his box and stopped. A flood of memories washed over him. He realized that once he left, all the friends he had made would be left behind. Tails started to cry. Suddenly, instead of wanting to leave, he wanted to stay. His new parents rushed over to his side, both trying to comfort their new son. Grandma took a step towards him, but stopped herself. Even though it was her job to be there for one of her kids, Tails was no longer one of them. She fought back the tears, letting only a few squeeze out. Steve and Mary knelt beside their boy, both wrapping an arm around his head, letting him know they were there for him.

"What's wrong son?" Steve asked. _'Heh. Son. Never thought I'd ever say that.' _Tails looked at his new dad, tears matting the hair around his eyes. "I don't want to leave my friends." Tails said, burying his head in Steve's shoulder. Mary smiled softly, bending down and whispering something into Steve's ear. She stood back up and Steve pulled his son gently away from himself. "That's what this is about?" He asked. "Well, I'll tell you what. What if I bring you here whenever you wanted? That way you could come with us and you wouldn't be leaving your friends. Would you like that?" Steve asked. Tails wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Really?" He asked. "Of course. You're my-our son. We'd do anything for you." Steve said.

Tails smiled. "Yeah." He said. "Ok then. Grab your stuff." Steve said. Tails grabbed the box off his bed and the three walked over to the door. Tails turned and faced the group one last time as a member of their family. "Thank you everyone." Tails said. "I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can." He said. Tails caught up with his mother and father just outside. "So can we really come back here? As much as I want?" Tails asked. Steve smiled. "Of course we can. Did you forget already?" He asked.

"No," Tails said. "I just want to make sure this isn't a dream." He said, climbing into the car and shutting the door. Steve and Mary followed suit. Steve started the engine and pulled away. _'Finally, I have parents. True parents.' _Tails thought. He looked out the back window, watching the only family he knew pull away from him.

Scourge

It had been an hour since Scourge locked himself in his room. In that time, he hadn't even moved off the bed. When he ran in, he locked the door behind him, turned on the light and climbed onto the bed, pulling his legs up to his chest in the fetal position. He had never seen Sonic or anyone else with eyes like he had seen. They were filled with a rage on a level, which he had never seen or heard of before. Just the thought of it made him shiver again. Who could blame him? He almost killed his best friend after all. Who wouldn't be mad after that? Scourge took a deep breath and let it out. "I wish I had my weed with me. At least I'd have something to calm me down." He said. No matter what happened, pot had always calmed him down. It was his security blanket. "Fuck." He said, sitting up on the bed. Scourge looked around for any trace of weed; anything would do at this point. "Come on. There's gotta be something lying around here." He said, frantically searching for the smallest bits. "Dammit." He said, coming up empty. The thought of going out to get what he had left on the table in front of the couch had crossed his mind, but left as quickly as it came. 'I don't want to see or hear you until I say it's OK to come out.' The words Sonic had spoken rang in his head like a siren. Scourge buried his head in his hands, took another deep breath and let it out. "Okay. Just calm down. I'm sure he'll be over it soon." Scourge decided that since he had no weed and no plan, he might as well watch TV. "I'm so glad I had one put in here." He said to himself. He grabbed the remote and turned it on. Scourge mindlessly flipped through the channels, finding nothing. "Oh good. Stuck in here, no weed and there's crap on TV. Yup. Might as well- oh sweet! Spongebob!" He said, smiling. Scourge grabbed the pillow, put it behind him and propped himself up. He finally began to let his guard down when he heard a knock at the door. "Hey Scourge, when you get done in there, I want to talk to you." Sonic said. Scourge tensed up again. _Fuck!_ "O-okay." He said. He didn't hear any anger in the tone of Sonic's voice or any emotion at all, and it sent a chill down Scourge's spine.

Sonic

Sonic waited after Spongebob had went off before getting Scourge, just like he planned. He walked over to the door and knocked on it. He heard the TV even at the low volume Scourge had set it at. _Wow. He's actually listening for once._ _Let's see if I can take this a little further._ "Hey Scourge, when you get done in there, I want to talk to you." Sonic took the emotion out of his voice, furthering his plan. "O-okay." He heard Scourge reply. Sonic walked away and sat back down on the couch. He heard a door open and shut behind him. "It's ok to come out?" Scourge asked, still scared that Sonic was going to flip out and try to kill him at any time. "Yeah." Sonic said, his voice emotionless. "Sit."

Scourge didn't waste any time and sat down by Sonic, scooting as far away as he could. "So, what's going on?" Scourge asked nervously. Sonic didn't even look at him. "You know, I thought you were a friend. Someone I could count on. I came to you looking for help, when I was in need. Sure you busted my balls at first, but I knew that you were just messing with me. But I guess I was wrong." Sonic said. At this point, Scourge wanted to crawl under the couch and die. He hadn't ever felt as bad as he had at that moment.

Sonic stood up and looked at Scourge. "You know, I thought about what you said. About how it was an accident. How you 'accidentally' grabbed the wrong syringe." Sonic took a step toward Scourge, his face level with his. "I have only one thing to say." Sonic said. Scourge shrank back and closed his eyes, waiting for the beating to come. "What?" Scourge asked meekly.

"You were right." Sonic said. Scourge opened his eyes, wondering for a second why he wasn't being hit. "I was right?" He asked. Sonic sat down by him. "Yeah. I only did this to scare you. At first I was pissed. But then I saw these." Sonic said, pointing to the black cases on the table.

Scourge realized what had happened and began to breathe again. "Look man, I'm sorry." Scourge said. "At the time, I just panicked, I-" Sonic stopped him. "It's OK. But let me ask you a question. Why did you grab both? Why didn't you just open them and make sure you had the right one?" Sonic asked. Scourge shifted so he could face Sonic better. "Believe it or not," He began, " From the time you passed out until the paramedics came is just a blur. I only remember that you were talking, then there were paramedics working on you." Scourge said.

Sonic did believe it. He had been through it himself. When he was trapped in Amy's house for the four days when she disappeared. It had all been a blur. He only remembered what had happened because Sally had dragged him to a psychiatrist. At first, he didn't want to go, saying he didn't need it. But after a few visits, he knew that it was good for him. And even after that, he didn't remember much about that time with Amy.

Sonic began to speak again. "OK. What about the heroin? You don't look like you use it, so why do you have it?" He asked. "I only have it so I can sell it when I need the money. I've tried getting a job, but no one will hire a guy like me. Especially around here. Most of the people here are like me. They sell to make a living. But unlike them, I don't use up what I have. Well, except the pot. But I'm the only one who gets my stuff for free. My dealers a good friend of mine. Known him for years. Plus he's got money coming out the ass. He can afford to give me what I need for free and it won't hurt him even a little."

Sonic took everything in. "OK." Sonic said. "What do you say we just forget the whole thing happened and put it past us?" Scourge smiled a little. "Yeah. Look. I'm sorry-" Sonic cut him off. "It's behind us now." Sonic said. "OK. So what now?" Scourge asked.

Sonic grabbed the pipe off the table and held it in front of Scourge. "Shall we tap another bowl?" He asked. Scourge laughed. "Well, I guess that's one way to put an end to the day." He said.

Tails

Shadow's words had been burning in Tails' mind since Shadow had shown up. It didn't make sense. _Why give Sonic two weeks instead of bringing him back then? Why not take Knuckles and me with him and bring him back? It doesn't add up. _The only part of it that made sense towas keeping everything from Sally. If Shadow had one of them had found him before he had shown up in Metropolis, while he was still coming down from the Phenotol, it would have been easier for him to sober up. Now it would be harder to get him to come clean. The hardest part of it all was keeping it from Sally. He wanted to tell her 'I know where Sonic is.' In fact, he wanted to yell it from the rooftops, but he wasn't sure what Shadow would do to him if he did. So he decided it would be best to keep it quiet.

"What time is- oh wow, it's already nine?" Sally said, stretching her arms as far as they would reach. Her shoulder made a popping sound, like when someone pressed the lid on a jar of jelly, only quieter. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. What about you?" She asked. Tails smiled, "I think I've got a couple more hours left in me." He said. Even if everything was normal, he couldn't go to sleep anyway. "I'll be going in a little while." Sally turned and headed toward the hallway. "Okay. Well goodnight Tails." She said. "Night Sally." Tails replied. He heard the door to Sally's room open, shut then lock. Tails sat there in the glow of the TV, not even bothering to watch it. He was too lost in thought. "Let's see." Tails whispered to himself. It was a habit he had. Talking to himself made it the thinking process easier. He thought about going to see Sonic himself but quickly dismissed it. "No. I'd just want to bring him back. No telling how Shadow would react." No matter what he came up with, nothing panned out. Tails sat for two hours, trying to come up with a solution around Shadow's plan, but couldn't think of one. "Ugh. I give up." Tails said, threw his hands up, grabbed the remote and watched TV.

Sonic

_This has been one hell of a day. First, everything's going good, then, Shadow busts in and almost kills me. Then, someone tries to gives me an overdose of heroin. Then I get electrocuted. Then Spongebob. Yup. Great day. _Sonic sat in his groove on the couch, pondering the day's events. By this point, he and Scourge were both wasted. They both wore the perpetual stoner look on their faces. Eyes half open, lips forming the slightest of smiles, body completely relaxed. Either barely making any movements. Laughing at nothing. Life at that point was good. "Dude, what time is it?" Sonic asked. When they were both high, time seemed to stand still. "Food time. I'm hungry as balls." Scourge replied, pulling himself off the couch and wandering into the kitchen to round something up. "Dammit Scourge, what time is it?" Sonic repeated.

"I said its food time, bitch." Scourge said. "Fuck you." Sonic replied. Scourge laughed. "Did you not ask what time it is?" Sonic laughed too. "Yeah. Guess I walked into that one." Sonic said. "Can you make me something?" Sonic asked. "I don't feel like moving right now. The couch won't let me." The couch had become a best friend. Of course, it didn't help that he had spent almost all of his time stoned. The only times that he wasn't stoned were when he first woke up, Scourge ran out of weed or when he didn't feel like it, which wasn't often, and since Scourge's dealer was a good friend, and the weed was free, there was a lot of it. Sonic heard Scourge moving around in the kitchen. "Well, were you going to make me something or not?" Sonic repeated.

"I'm sorry sir, the kitchen is closed." Scourge replied. Sonic laughed. "Well what gives you the right to be in there?" Sonic asked. "I want to talk to the manager."

"Will you be quiet? This is a library." Scourge said. Sonic laughed harder. "What the hell are you rambling on about?" Sonic asked. "I don't know. I'm stoned. Leave me alone." Scourge replied. He came back a minute later, carrying a plate of sandwiches. "Damn man. How hungry are you?" Sonic asked. Scourge had come back with about ten sandwiches. "Hey. When I get hungry, I get hungry." Scourge said. "I guess." Sonic said, grabbing one and taking a bite. Ten minutes later and they were gone. Scourge set the plate on the table and reached for his pipe. "Oops. Looks like I'm out of weed." Scourge said holding an empty bag. "Be right back." Scourge said. He got up and walked into his room. By now Sonic's high had almost worn off and he began to see the world through sober eyes again. Things that had been interesting a few hours ago seemed stupid. "Dude, you watching this?" Sonic asked. "Ow, fuck! No. Go ahead." Scourge replied.

Sonic grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. The only sounds in the house were coming from the TV indiscriminately and from Scourge cursing when he didn't find anything. Sonic didn't find anything on TV and put it back on what they had been watching before. Scourge came back a minute later. "Well, I've got good news and bad news." He said. "And what is that?" Sonic asked. "Good news is I found my other bag. The bad news is it's empty." Scourge said, holding up an empty bag. "So what happens now?" Sonic asked. "Don't worry. I'll get some more tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. Later." Scourge said. "See ya." Sonic replied. "Well if he's going I guess the party's over." Sonic said and lay down on the couch, alone with his thoughts.

Tails

Tails laid on the couch in Sally's house, trying to go to sleep for hours, but he had too much on his mind. All of it involving Sonic. He just couldn't stop thinking about it. Tails sat up rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock. '1:00 a.m.' "Well that's just great." Tails said. He had never been one to stay up late. He found no purpose in doing so. He sat up and reached for the remote, but stopped. "Eh. What's the point? There's nothing on." He said. Outside it was a beautiful night. The moon was full and shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. Tails got up and walked to the back door. He looked out the small window in the door and looked outside. The moon was bright enough that it illuminated everything enough making it possible to see. Tails thought being outside a while might do him some good. After all, the last time he had left the house was when he and Sally had gone to the mall. Even though it was only yesterday, it felt like an eternity to him. Tails didn't like to be indoors for too long. The only time it didn't bother him was when he was in the lab.

Tails tiptoed over to where his phone was and grabbed it, always making sure he had it with him no matter where he was. He quietly made his way back over to the door and as quiet as possible, he unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. It made a slight squeaking sound as it opened. Tails walked outside and shut the door behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was relaxing outside. Since it was fall, it was that time of year where it wasn't warm, yet it wasn't cold. It was just right. Sally and Sonic's house sat in the middle of a field just a few miles outside of town. Close enough in case they needed something or there was an emergency, yet far enough it was out in the country, away from the hectic life of the city.

Tails walked out into the yard, choosing a spot that suited him and sat down. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. There wasn't another house around that he could see. It was all open fields. The moonlight giving the grass a bright bluish-green tint. Various animals could be heard in the distance, their calls carrying on the wind. Tails sat in Sally and Sonic's backyard, taking in the quietness of nature. And for the first time in his life, he stopped thinking about anything. His mind drifting into quiet solitude. He smiled. "So this is what it must be like to live in a perfect world." He said. It was a foreign feeling. He had never been able to shut off his brain like that. It had always been thinking, the gears always turning. He felt...normal.

Tails laid down in the yard, looking up at the sky, and drifted off to sleep.

Sally

Sally opened her eyes and looked at the clock next to the bed. '7:41' She yawned and sat up in bed, stretching her arms and legs. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up and put on her robe. She wasn't a morning person by any means. It usually took her a few minutes before she was herself. Her morning routine was as follows. Get up, bathroom, coffee. In that order. Food wasn't a big priority. In fact, she was never hungry. But she always made a point to eat something. After she had gone to the bathroom, she made her cup of coffee. Black, with a hint of sugar to tone the bitter taste down a little. She sat at the table, sipping her coffee. The table was facing the back door and she noticed that it was unlocked. "What the-" She wondered. "Did I...No. I know I locked it." She said. Sally looked at the front door and saw that it was locked. She got up and walked over to the door and opened it. It was a beautiful morning. Sally walked outside, the sun shining brightly. "Wow." Sally said to herself. She took a step off the small porch and saw something in the yard. "What is that?" She wondered. "Tails?" Sally walked over to where Tails was sleeping. Sally bent down on one knee. She placed a hand on Tails and gently shook him. "Tails." She said quietly. "Tails." She repeated.

"Mmmph." Tails murmured. Tails opened his eyes slightly then blinked. "Sally?" He asked. Tails sat up. "I must've fallen asleep." He said standing up. "What time is it?" He asked, bending down and grabbing his phone. "8:00. Guess I slept in." Tails said. Normally, he would have already been up and active. He was used to getting up around six or so. Eight o'clock to him was sleeping in. The only time he had went to sleep after ten was a late night for him. Sally and Tails walked back into the house. "So what made you sleep out in the yard?" She asked. "Well last night I couldn't get to sleep, so I figured the fresh air would do me some good. Turns out it worked a little too well I guess." Tails said from inside the kitchen, making breakfast. Sally wasn't comfortable letting Tails do most of the work, but he insisted.

"What was wrong?" Sally asked. Tails didn't even hesitate. "Just thinking. Couldn't turn my brain off. You know?" Tails said. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic woke up the next morning. "Oh God what time is it?" He asked himself. The clock said it was around ten. "Hey, I'm up early." He said, getting up. After he used the bathroom and walked around for a minute to wake himself up, he went into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a look inside, trying to find something to drink. Of course the only thing in there was beer. He shut the fridge. "It's too early to start drinking." He said. He grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and held it under the faucet. He turned it on and the water flowed out filling the glass. He shut off the water and took a drink. And immediately spit it out. The strong taste of chlorine filled his mouth. He wasn't used to drinking city water. Every city he had been in used the same method of water purification. Gather the water, add in tons of chlorine, sanitize the water and pump it to people's homes. "Beer it is." He said, grabbing a bottle and heading back to his groove in the couch. Sonic sat down and turned the TV on. Around an hour later he heard Scourge moving around in his room. Sonic heard the door open and Scourge walkout and a few minutes later he joined him in his spot on the couch. "Morning." Scourge said. "Hey." Sonic replied. A few more minutes passed until either spoke a word. Sonic was the first. "So what's up for today." Sonic asked.

"I'm gonna head out." Scourge said. He got up and walked over to the door and opened it. "Where you going?" Sonic asked. Scourge turned around. "You forgot already? We need more weed. I'll be back in an hour." He said and left Sonic alone.

Knuckles

Knuckles walked out onto the porch of the tiny two room house he had called home his entire fifteen years of life. The mornings on the island were always something to behold. It was always pleasant, no matter what time of year it was, and this day was no exception. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Even the air seemed better here than it had anywhere else he had been. He smiled, taking in the stillness of the morning. He had been on the island since he was born, the last in a long line of echidnas entrusted with guarding the master emerald on the island. It was a constant target of Robotnik, whom had tried to steal it for his own twisted reasons. But every time he tried, Sonic and his friends had always managed to fight him off for a little while.

It was around eight in the morning. Unusual for Knuckles since he usually woke up around five to do his morning workouts, but he decided to sleep in this time. He always woke up early to work out, keeping his body in shape in case he needed to fight, and his routine had become invaluable over the years. Since Sonic had speed and Tails had ingenuity, Knuckles was the muscle of the group. He stood on the edge of the porch, stretching, getting himself ready for the daily routine. His routine consisted of 30 minutes of running for cardio and hand to hand training, which he practiced on the many trees that surrounded his house. He was just about to start for the day when the phone rang. He took his phone out and checked the caller I.D. It was Tails. "He's calling early." Knuckles said. He pushed the 'call' button. "Hello?"

"Hey Knuckles, it's Tails." Tails said. "Hey Tails, what's up?" Knuckles asked. "You busy?" Tails asked. "What happened? Is everything OK?" Knuckles asked. It always concerned him when Tails called. It wasn't like Tails to call just to talk. Tails was the kind that went to someone personally instead of calling. "Everything's fine." Tails said. "I just had a question. When Shadow talked to you the other day, what did he want?" Tails asked.

Knuckles hesitated. "Oh you know. Nothing important." Tails knew Shadow had told Knuckles the same thing he had told Tails. "Look Red, I know what Shadow told you. He told me the same thing." Tails said.

"And what's that?" Knuckles asked. "He told me that he found Sonic hiding out in Metropolis." Tails said. "So listen, I was hoping I could come over for a while and talk about what he said. You mind?" Tails asked. "Yeah. I ain't got nothing going on today." Knuckles said. "Okay. I'll see you in a little while. Bye." Tails said and hung up.

Tails

Tails hung up his end and put his phone away. He was outside away from Sally where she couldn't hear. Even though he didn't agree with Shadow, he wasn't about to mess up the plan he had laid out without exhausting every possible way around it. Tails walked back in the house. Sally was sitting in one of the recliners, watching a movie on TV. "Listen Sally. I gotta take off for a while." Tails said. Sally looked up at him. "What's wrong?" She asked. Tails walked over to the door. "Nothing. I just want to go by the lab and make sure everything's OK. Haven't been there since I came over here, you know?" Tails said. Sally smiled. "Yeah. You gonna come back?" Sally asked. Her question made Tails want to stay instead of meeting with Knuckles, but he knew that she wasn't like she was a week and a half ago. He knew that she would be fine until he got back, but he still didn't like to leave her alone by herself for very long. He knew he would have to make his visit with Knuckles as quick as possible. "It shouldn't be too long. I figure about and hour or two." Tails said. Sally turned around toward the TV. "Okay. See you when you get back." She said. "Okay." Tails replied and shut the door behind him.

Sonic

"Where the fuck is he?" Sonic wondered. It had been three hours since Scourge had left to score more weed. Sonic was getting madder with every passing hour. He had become used to having a constant supply of weed available to him. He hadn't gone this long without lighting up before. He began to think about how he could supplement his fix. First, he remembered the bag he had brought with him when he first showed up at Scourge's. He looked around for it and saw it by the door in the same spot where he had put it. Sonic got up and walked over to it and picked it up. He dumped the contents on the floor in front of him. There wasn't much. Just a few clothes he had grabbed from his and Sally's house, a small flashlight to see in the dark and an empty bottle. "Dammit." Sonic said out loud. He thought the bottle would have at least one Phenotol left.

"Oh shit. That's right." Sonic said. A day after he had gotten there, Sonic hadn't started smoking weed yet and had taken it in a last ditch effort to stave off the effects of Phenotol withdrawal. Thanks to Scourge, he had kicked his Phenotol habit, but had gained another in the process. It wasn't extreme by any means. Like a smoker, he became irritable at the slightest things, and he didn't like that.

Sonic had begun to panic slightly. _What if he got picked up?_ Sonic thought._ How the hell am I gonna get my weed! _These thoughts had sent Sonic further into his paranoia. He had started to sweat, his heart racing. _Calm down. Calm down. _Sonic thought. He stood still and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. In and out, in and out. _Just calm down and think this calmly._

This managed to calm the hedgehog down significantly. He stood still for several minutes until he regained his composure. "That's better." Sonic said. "Now, let's see if he's got any put away for a rainy day." Sonic said, heading in the direction of Scourge's room.

Tails

Tails aimed the Tornado at the small runway that had been made on Angel Island. He and Knuckles had made it shortly after he, Sonic and Knuckles had teamed up to fight Robotnik. They all agreed that it was a good idea to have one on the island if one of them needed to get to the island. It was only dirt, but Tails had made sure it was as flat as they could get it. Tails set the plane down and taxied to the end of the runway. He shut the engine off and climbed out of the cockpit. Tails set foot on the ground and a slight breeze had begun to blow. It was cool and refreshing, the smell of salt lingered in it. Tails took a deep breath. "Mmmm. Now, his place should be..." Tails said, trying to figure out which direction Knuckles house was. "That way." Tails said. He jumped in the air and began quickly twisting his tails around, lifting himself up off the ground and giving him a better view of the island. Tails spotted the house off in the distance and headed toward it. "Shouldn't take too long." Tails thought.

He remembered how long it had taken him to be able to stay in the air as long as he could. Putting in hours and hours of practice, the feeling of complete exhaustion day after day, until finally, he had managed to reach the hour mark. He remembered the day that happened as clearly as if it had just happened. He told Sonic that he had finally managed to fly for an hour. Sonic looked at him, smiled and gave him a pat on the back. "See? I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you." _I'm proud of you. _Tails heard it over and over in his mind again. He had always wanted Sonic's approval and Sonic had always given it to him. Of course, Tails didn't see it that way.

He was always unsure of himself. He thought his small size had made him weaker and less important in the eyes of others. He always strived for perfection at everything he had done. Whenever someone praised him or acknowledged him, he felt useful. But with Sonic, it was different. He saw Sonic as his 'older brother'. It was Sonic's opinion that mattered most. When Tails had failed at something, it hurt. But when he let Sonic down, it was even worse.

Tails felt himself begin to cry. Once he felt like this, he needed to find a secluded spot and let it all out. He looked around and saw a small clearing in the trees below. He descended to the ground and stopped twisting his tails, letting them fall on the ground behind him. He walked over to a tree and leaned against it, and slid down to the ground. His thoughts were squarely on Sonic and nothing else. Even before Sonic had left Sally, while he was trapped in Amy's sadistic prison, he hadn't let his emotions through. He had held them back for everyone else. He didn't want them to see how weak he was. He stepped up and became the leader in Sonic's absence. Even after Sonic had returned, he held his emotions in check. Now, every emotion he had bottled up had now come forward. Tails cried long and hard. Harder than he had before. He cried for Sonic when he was trapped with Amy. He cried for Sonic for what he was going through right now. Cried for Sally and Knuckles. But most of all, he cried for himself.

Sonic

Sonic had torn up every inch of Scourge's room looking for any sign of weed that Scourge had hidden back for an emergency. Of course, Sonic had been careful. Making sure he put back everything just as he left it. He didn't want to take the chance on Scourge finding out that he had been in his room to smoke his reserves dry. "Fuuuuck!" Sonic groaned in anger and frustration. Sonic sat on the edge of Scourge's bed, trying to ride it out. He got up to walk out when something caught his eye. It was the small black case that was on the table in front of the couch earlier. Sonic sat back down and picked it up. He held it in his hands, turning it over and over. He opened it. Inside, there were six needles, five full and one empty. "No label." Sonic said. He knew that this one was the case with the heroin. "No." Sonic said, putting the case back down on the nightstand.

Sonic stood up and walked out of Scourge's room. He wasn't about to take that option unless he absolutely had to. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer and a sandwich, thinking that having something in his stomach might take his mind off of weed for a while. The last time he could remember eating anything was last night when Scourge ran out of pot. He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Blue sat there, watching TV, eating his sandwich and drinking his beer. Slowly, his mind began to forget about its need for weed. He even found something good on TV. "Guess I just needed to eat something." Sonic said to himself.

Tails

Tails wiped the tears away from his face and looked at his watch. It was 5:40. He had been crying for almost twenty minutes. Tails took in a few deep breaths, trying to gather his thoughts and make it look like he hadn't been crying for thirty minutes. The fox felt better than he had in a long time. He hadn't made time to deal with what had happened for himself. He was too focused comforting everyone else, a quality that made him admirable. Tails stood up and leaped in the air, twisting his twin tails and resuming his flight to Knuckles house.

It didn't take long and he set down in front of Knuckles house a few minutes later. Tails walked up to the door and knocked. Knuckles answered. "Hey Tails." Knuckles said.

"Hey Red." Tails replied. "I don't know how the hell that name managed to stick." Knuckles said. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Yeah. Uh, the other day, when Shadow talked to me, he told me that he found Sonic in Metropolis. He tell you the same thing?" Tails asked. "Yeah, yeah. He also said that he didn't want either of us to go after him." Knuckles said. Tails sat down on one of the chairs on the porch and Knuckles did the same thing. "I don't get it. I mean, I kind of understand his reasons for him not wanting us to go there, but why does he care? You'd think he wouldn't tell anyone." Tails said. "Yeah. I've been trying to figure out if he's up to something or not. It doesn't look like it, but you never know." Knuckles leaned back in his chair. "Have you thought of a better plan?" Knuckles asked. "I know I've tried and I couldn't come up with anything."

Tails leaned foreward in his chair. "No. I've gone through every possible scenario in my head, and as much as I hate to admit it, his is the best plan. I figure, if we go over there and force Sonic to come back with us, he won't stay for long. Maybe a day or two at the most. If he's doing drugs and he's addicted to whatever it is he's taking, which if I remember it was some kind of painkiller, wasn't it." Tails asked. Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. From what's her name." Knuckles said. "If he's doing something else, he won't go through rehab to kick it unless he wants to of his own free will. We force him to do that, he'll resent us for God knows how long." Tails said. "That is a good point. So what do you think we should do?" Knuckles asked. Tails looked out at the setting sun. "I don't know. I want to go there and drag his ass back here. But, I know it would do more harm than good. You know?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I think the best thing we can do is let this run it's course. " Knuckles said. "Yeah. I guess your right." Tails said. The fox stood up and walked to the edge of the porch. "Heh. You know the one thing that's been bothering me the most?"

"What's that?" Knuckles asked. "Why do you think Shadow gave him two weeks?" Tails asked. "That's the one thing that doesn't make sense to me." Tails said. "Beats me. Maybe this is his way of getting his rocks off. I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine." Knuckles said.

"Yeah." Tails stared out into the distance. The sun had started to set, casting an orange glow over the island. Tails looked at his watch. "Guess I should be getting back. Thanks Red." Tails said as he walked off the porch. "No problem. You did most of the talking anyway." Knuckles said.

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep. He looked around for the clock on the wall. '8:00'. "Ooooohhhh." Sonic groaned, stretching his arms and legs as far as they would go. "Jesus, he's still not back yet? He better not have gotten picked up." Sonic said. "Wait, if he would have been popped, he would have called." Sonic picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, something that had been burned into his daily routine. His day now consisted of waking up, smoke some pot, watch TV, laugh, eat, watch TV, smoke pot, laugh and sleep. A lazy man's dream.

Sonic flipped through the channels mindlessly when heard someone walk up to the door. It was Scourge. The green hedgehog waked in and tossed the bag he was carrying on the table in front of him and sat down. "Hey." He said. Sonic looked at him. "Where the fuck you been?" Sonic asked. Scourge scoffed at looked at him. "Oh sorry mom. I didn't think I had to call to make sure it was ok to stay out after curfew."

"Yeah, yeah. Cat loves food." Sonic replied. "So what happened?" Sonic asked, wondering why Scourge what Scourge had been doing for the last eight hours. "Hold on." Scourge said. He got up and walked into the kitchen. He came back a moment later with two beers. He handed one to Sonic and he sat down. "I had a hell of a day." He said opening his beer and taking a long drink. "Actually, nothing happened. I just lost track of time. Yeah. My dealer had this real good shit, you know, the stuff that makes you forget that you have feet." Scourge leaned back, sipping his beer.

Sonic looked at him, trying to figure out if Scourge was serious or not. "So, you were getting high all day? And you didn't bring any back for me?" Sonic asked. Scourge looked at him. "Calm down. Look in there." Scourge said, pointing to the bag on the table. Sonic reached out and grabbed hold of it. He reached in and pulled out three plastic gallon bags full of weed. Sonic's eyes doubled in size. "Jesus. How much is here?" Sonic asked, pulling out the bags and setting them down on the table. The smell was strong enough it was seeping through the bags. "There a pound each, I think." Scourge said. "Anyway, let me tell you what happened. First, he brought out this one type of weed called 'Frankenstein'." Scourge said. "Frankenstein? What's it like?" Sonic asked.

Scourge looked at him. "Well, when you smoke it, you walk around like this." Scourge said, holding his arms out in front of him and moving from side to side, groaning. Sonic laughed. "Holy shit." Sonic said. He glanced over at the bags on the table. "Hey, th-there isn't any of that mixed in with those, is there?" Sonic asked. He still couldn't handle the extreme types of weed. Scourge grinned. "Naw. Only one of them is the special blend. The other one is the stuff you've been smoking. I made sure of that." Scourge grabbed two of the bags and stood up. "Let me put these away and I'll tell you what happened next." Scourge said, walking back toward his room. Sonic grabbed the bag Scourge left behind. He could smell the pot through the bag even though he was holding it on his lap. "You mind if I uh...?" Sonic asked. He had waited all day for this moment. "Nah. Go ahead. Oh, and before you ask, no, it's not gonna make you see weird shit or anything. I know how you hate when that happens." Scourge said. Sonic grinned, grabbed the pipe and opened the bag. The smell of the pot hit him straight in the face. "Whew! How fresh is this?" Sonic asked. It smelled like a skunk, which, as best as Sonic could picture it, had sprayed a patch of wild mint.

"He told me that he had gotten some fresh stuff yesterday, I think. I don't know, I've been baked pretty much all day." Scourge said as he came back to where Sonic was and sat down. "So what happened next?" Sonic asked as he finished packing the bowl and lighting it up. "Oh man. After I smoked that, I lost about, uh, let's see, nine, ten, uh... about four hours." Scourge said, counting the hours on the clock above the TV. "Really?" Sonic asked, coughing a little, a tiny bit of smoke still hanging in the back of his throat. "Yeah. First, I'm taking a hit and the next thing I know, I'm back here." Scourge said, taking a hit off the pipe as well. The smoke hung in the air, almost clinging to the walls. Sonic leaned back, letting the pot engulf him in its euphoria. His body started to relax. Every inch of him began to go numb. Sonic started to panic. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Dude, my whole body's numb! Am I dying?" Sonic asked. He had never felt like this sensation before and he was worried. Scourge glanced over at him. "Don't worry. It's completely normal." Scourge said. "I thought it wasn't going to do weird shit to me!" Sonic exclaimed. Scourge looked around, his eyes barely open. "Oh shit. I guess I took the wrong bag. Well, just to give you fair warning, you're gonna start getting paranoid. You won't see shit, but uh, it's going to get weird." Scourge said.

A/N: And another chapter is in the books. I glad you guys (and girls) are enjoying this. I would have had this uploaded earlier, but other stuff got in the way. Thanks for reading.


	10. Numbered Days

Chapter 10

Numbered Days

I can't figure out if these should be rated M or MA. And about the last chapter, I know it could have been a lot better than it actually was. Question to anyone in Australia or anyone familiar with Australia, what does 'crossing Tom Uglies' mean? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one a lot more. Rated M. Enjoy.

Sonic

"What do you mean stuff's gonna start getting weird?" Sonic asked, his voice heavy with worry. Scourge didn't even turn toward him. "I don't know. I'm just fuckin' with you." He said, laughing. "The numbness should go away in a bit. The only thing to you need to do is _relax._" Scourge said. Those words helped to ease his anxiety a little. _Okay. Just relax, huh? Let's try that._ Sonic thought. He stopped trying to move and shut his eyes, trying not to think about anything. And it actually worked. He began to feel normal again. He stopped sweating and his heart stopped racing. Of course, every inch of his body still felt like a thousand needles were poking it, but at least he was calm. Five minutes passed. There was still some numbness, but it had subsided a little. It was now a dull roar. Sonic no longer felt the panic he had been feeling before. He felt fine, aside from not being able to move.

"This isn't so bad. Once you know you're not dying." Sonic said. "What did I tell you?" Scourge said. After a while had passed, everything had gone smoothly. Both hedgehogs sat there loaded out of their minds, both grinning like idiots. Scourge turned his head toward Sonic. "Hey, uh... q-question." Scourge stuttered. "Hmmm?" Sonic grunted. "Can you get me something to eat?" Scourge asked. Sonic didn't even look at him. "Dude, I can't even feel my feet." Sonic said, laughing. Scourge laughed as well. "Ah, told you."

Sally & Tails

Tails made it back to Sally's in less than thirty minutes. The sun had gone down just as he arrived, like he had figured he would. Tails waked up to the house and opened the front door. "Sally? I'm back." Tails called out to her. She was in the kitchen. "Hey." She said. Tails walked over to the couch and sat down. The TV was on, but he didn't pay much attention. He was happy that there was a place to sit. The fox was wore out from all that he had done that day. Flying did take a lot of energy. Usually, it took a full day of rest to completely regain all his energy. Tails shut his eyes and leaned his head back. He slowly began to relax. Sally walked back in the room a minute later. "Hey Tails." She said softly. "How'd everything go?" She asked. Sally sat down next to him. She noticed something odd about the fox. Tails turned his head toward her. "Oh, you know. The usual." Tails said. Sally didn't say anything. "What?" He asked. "Hmm. Are you OK?" Sally asked. Tails sat up. "What are you talking about?" Tails asked.

"You're eyes are red." She said. "Did something happen?" Sally asked. She knew something had happened and from what she could tell, it wasn't anything bad that she could tell, but she knew something had happened while he was gone. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. Tails smiled nervously. "What are you talking about?" Tails asked. "I'm fine." He said, trying to avoid going down this particular road. "For one thing, you're eyes are red. And from what I can tell, you've been crying." She said softly. "So, are you OK?"

Tails knew she wouldn't stop until she got what she had wanted and began to tell her what had happened on the island. "Well, after I got to the island, I was going to talk to Knuckles, but uh, before I got there, I uh, started crying." Tails said. That took Sally by surprise. "What happened?" She asked. Tails stared at his feet. "Well you know when Sonic first disappeared, I thought I would have let my feelings out. Then when he came back, I thought, 'Okay, now I can let everything out.' But I thought I had to be strong for everyone. But I didn't. Then he left again. I guess I held everything in for too long." Tails stopped. Sally noticed the expression on his face had changed. When she had sat down next to him, he looked tired. Now he looked sad. "I, uh, I found a clearing in the trees, I landed and just cried, just let everything out, you know"

_Yeah,_ _I know. _Sally thought. She moved closer and put her arm around him. "And how do you feel now?" She asked. She noticed the expression on his face had changed again, going from the depressed look to that of a child that had been separated from his mother in a public place. "I..." Was all Tails managed to get out before he began crying again. Sally quickly embraced him, offering what support she could.

Tails sobbed loudly. _I guess he didn't get it all out on the island._ Sally hugged him tight. "It's okay. It's okay. Let it all out." She said, hugging him. Tails curled up on the couch next to her and lay his head on her lap. Sally's shirt had become covered where Tails' tears had fallen. _My God, how much has he bottled up inside? _Sally lightly stroked the side of Tails' face, and it brought him comfort. Seeing Tails cry made her start to cry too, but she managed to stop herself before Tails could notice, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape. _Keep calm. It won't do him any good if you lose it too. _After a while, Tails finally got all that he had been holding inside out. He sat up and Sally handed him s few tissues. He dried his eyes and turned to her. "Thanks." He said, blowing his nose. Sally smiled. "Don't mention it." She said. "You feel better?" She asked. The fur around Tails' eyes had been matted down from the tears. He smiled. "Yeah. I think I'm just gonna go to bed." Tails said. Sally put her arm around him again. "You gonna be ok?" She asked, making sure he wasn't just saying that. "Yeah. I'll be fine now." He said. One look and she could tell that he was going to be fine. "Okay. Guess I'll head that way too. Goodnight Tails." She said, leaning in and planting a small kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight Sally." He replied. Sally got up and walked to her bedroom and just before she opened the door, she heard Tails call her name. "Sally?"

"Yes?" She answered. "Thanks." He said. "Don't mention it." She said and went into her room.

Shadow

It had been almost two weeks since Shadow had seen or talked to anyone. He had completely holed up on ARK, biding his time until the two-week deadline, choosing to wait in complete silence until there were four days left in the 'deadline'. Since he spent most of his time alone anyway, the quiet that came along with it had given him the time needed to come up with the plan he had set in motion. At first, he didn't think it was the greatest plan he had come up with. But after seeing what Sonic had done and the toll it took on Sally and to a lesser extent, everyone else, Shadow decided he had to do something. It wasn't in his nature to help others and didn't take any particular joy in doing it. He wouldn't admit it to himself or anyone else, but somewhere deep down; he actually cared for them.

Not in a big way, but he did care for them. Even Sonic to a certain extent. Now, the two weeks were almost up. There were only three days left until he had promised to confront Sonic once again. Shadow grabbed his phone and dialed. The phone rang three times when a voice answered.

"Hello?" It said. It was Tails. "Hey." Shadow replied. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I just barely laid down. What's up?" Tails asked.

"How's Sally?" Shadow asked.

"Hold on." Tails said. Shadow could hear the sound of footsteps coming from the other end and a door opening and closing. "Okay. I didn't want Sally to hear me. Well, she's doing fine. I don't think there's anything wrong with her mentally anymore. So what's going on with you?"

"You haven't told her about Sonic?" Shadow asked.

"No. You gonna fill me in on your plan?" Tails asked.

"Hmph." Shadow grunted.

"I take that as a no." Tails said.

"No. I'm thinking." Shadow said. There was a bit more silence then Shadow spoke. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Here's the basics. In four days, me, you and Knuckles go to Metropolis and bring Sonic back here one way or another. That's the jist of it." Shadow said.

"That's it? We all just go there together? That's it?" Tails asked.

"So was that-" Dial tone. "The least he could do is say bye or something." Tails said as he pushed 'END' and went back inside.

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic opened his eyes and rubbed them, trying to shake the sleep from them. He yawned and sat up on the couch. "Ahhhhhhhh." He moaned, stretching his arms and legs to shake them from their slumber. Sonic looked around and noticed the sun was out. He looked at the clock and saw it was later than he expected. '4:49.' The clock said. "Oh shit. That'll really knock you out." Sonic said. The last thing he could remember was smoking pot, being completely numb, and then waking up. After going to the bathroom, he walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and reached out for a beer, but stopped. He shut the door and walked over to the sink. "No beer. Not today." He said to himself. He took a small glass out of the cabinet and held it under the faucet. Turning on the tap, he filled the glass and turned off the tap. He could smell the chlorine emanating from the glass. "Guess the only thing Metropolis cares about is its water." Sonic said, turning the glass up and drinking it as fast as he could. The taste of chlorine wasn't has bad as he remembered when he first came to Metropolis. It was strong, but tolerable. He filled the glass again and drank it. And filled it again. After four glasses, he felt full. Sonic opened the fridge and looked inside. He saw a pizza box sitting inside. "Pizza? When did we get pizza?" Sonic wondered, grabbing a slice and shutting the door. Sonic walked back to the couch and turned on the TV. He was flipping through the channels mindlessly when Scourge woke up. "Mmmmmmmm." Scourge moaned, stretching his arms. "What time is it?" Scourge asked. Sonic looked at the clock. "After five." He said. Scourge laughed a little. "What did I tell you? You smoke that and you lose track of time." He said, getting up and going to the bathroom. Scourge came back with his own slice of pizza and sat back down.

"When did we have pizza?" Scourge asked. Sonic laughed. "I don't remember. You remember anything?" Sonic asked. "Well, I remember you were freaking out. Something about you couldn't feel your feet and uh, ninjas or something like that were trying to get in the windows to kill us or something like that. I don't know. I can't really remember." Scourge said. Sonic stared at him blankly. "Wait. I thought you could remember everything. What happened?" Sonic asked. "I told you," Scourge said, "That kind of pot messes with me. I'm lucky I can remember to breathe when I smoke it. In fact, let me get it out of the way. Save it as a backup. You know?" Scourge said as he grabbed the bag and took it back into his room for safekeeping. "Yeah. Good idea." Sonic said.

Sonic

Yesterday had passed without incident. Both Sonic and Scourge had done their daily routine. Wake up, watch TV, get high, eat, sleep, and repeat. But something was different. The pot wasn't having the same effect as it had before. What used to bring uncontrollable fits of laughter and hunger now had little if no effect at all. It did nothing. "What the fuck? I don't think this shit's working." Sonic said. By now, he had taken five hits from the stuff that he knew wouldn't make him completely numb. He even waited a good twenty minutes before taking one last hit from it. Nothing. Sonic just sat there. "Nothing?" Scourge asked, already loaded out of his mind. "Yeah. Nothing. What the hell? I don't think it's any good." Sonic said, the disappointment heavy in his voice. "No. Trust me. It's good. I think it's you." Scourge said.

"You sure about that doc?" Sonic asked. "Hey, look who you're talking to." Scourge said. Sonic put his head in his hands, trying to come up with a solution for his current dilemma. "Mmmmm." He moaned. He wasn't used to being clear headed for so long. "Ooh. Hold on." Scourge said. He returned a minute later with the bag of 'super weed'. Scourge set it on the table and Sonic opened it and packed the pipe full. He took a hit and waited a few minutes. Nothing. He did it again. Nothing. He repeated this four more times. In the span of an hour, he had taken twelve hits from two completely different types of pot. And he was as sober as if he had never smoked a day in his life. "You know," Scourge said, laughing, "I've never seen anyone take five hits of that and still be sober."

"Yeah. Laugh it up jackass." Sonic popped off. "Sorry." Sonic said quickly. "Guess I'm a little edgy." Scourge didn't flinch. "Don't worry about it. Uh, you mind if I crash?" Scourge asked. "Why are you asking me? I'm not your mom." Sonic said. "Thanks mom." Scourge said, getting up off the couch and making his way to his room. "See ya later." Scourge said as he shut the door.

A few hours later:

Time had slowed to a crawl. The seconds seemed like minutes and the minutes seemed like hours. Sonic wasn't used to being clear and level headed. His body began to ache, too. He knew it wasn't withdrawal, but something different. The pain grew more intense as time passed. He just couldn't stand the pain or being sober. It was driving him mad. The only thing he could think about was getting high. "Fuck this." Sonic said. Sonic decided to do something. He walked to Scourge's room and opened the door. Scourge was passed out. "Nothing's going to wake him up." Sonic said out loud. He began his search. He looked in the drawers and in Scourge's closet for his objective. Nothing. Sonic tore the room upside down, but at the same time, making sure nothing was too out of place. Sonic turned around and saw it sitting by the TV. "Figures he'd hide it in plain sight." Blue said. He grabbed it and made his exit.

Back at 'Mission Command' as Sonic had dubbed the couch in a effort to fight the boring effects of sobriety, he laid his prize on the table in front of him, next to the bag of pot. He stared at them for a minute. "Okay. One more hit. Just to be sure." Sonic said. He grabbed the pipe that Scourge had left out and packed it full. He lit it and inhaled. He blew out the smoke and repeated again and again until he was smoking the ashes of the burnt up remains. He waited thirty minutes this time, just to be sure. Nothing. Nothing but quiet. And pain. He had made up his mind. After several tries to fix his problem, and not finding a solution, he knew this was the only way. Sonic grabbed the black case that he had grabbed out of Scourge's room. Sonic grabbed one of the needles out and held it in front of him. He studied it carefully, suddenly having second thoughts about what he was about to do. He set it down and put his head in his hands.

_What the hell am I doing? _Sonic asked himself. He knew he had hit a new low, but couldn't admit it to himself. Admitting that would be a sign of weakness and he knew he was far from weak. He knew he could beat this. Sonic picked up the needle and held it against his arm. He pressed the tip against his arm, the sharp tip barely digging into his skin. He was about to press the plunger when he stopped. "Wait," He said. "Tie off your arm, stupid."

Sonic began his search for a makeshift 'tie off'. He looked for a few minutes but didn't find anything. He sat back down and figured the best way he could do it would be to put his arm against the arm of the couch and put his full weight against it, causing the veins to rise to the surface. He grabbed the chosen needle and placed it on his leg so he could grab it easier when he was ready. Sonic put his arm on the arm of the couch and leaned on it with his body. A minute later, his arm went numb from cutting off the circulation. By this point, the pain in his body had increased two fold. The only thing he knew that people did before they were about to inject was that they tapped their arm to find a good vein and that said vein had to be straight. Sonic began tapping his arm with his index and middle finger, going up and down, tapping random places until he found a spot.

He did what he knew and found the only spot that had a straight vein. Sonic picked up the needle and held it against his skin, the tip aimed at the vein. Suddenly, a bolt of pain shot through him. The sudden burst caused him to yell. "AAAH!" Sonic yelped suddenly. He decided it was now or never.

He pushed the needle into his skin and into the vein. He winced when the tip broke the skin. Sonic remembered how much Scourge had given him when he had panicked. "What was it? Oh. It was half." He said. Sonic decided he would do as little as possible. On the side of the syringe was a guide with the numbers 0 to 50 to show how much of any given substance was in the needle. The particular needle he was holding was filled to 25. Sonic found it ironic that he was holding the needle that had been used on him a few days earlier. Sonic laughed as another bolt shot through him. "AAAH!" He exclaimed again. He knew he had to do it now. He decided that using only ten would suffice. He pulled back on the needle to see if any blood would be drawn into the syringe, signifying that he had entered the vein. A small amount of blood entered the syringe and he pressed the plunger down, injecting himself with ten units.

Sonic took the needle out of his arm and laid it on the table. Blue sat there, rubbing the spot that he had stuck the needle into. Nothing. "Really? Fuckin' nothing?" Sonic said disgusted and pissed. "What time is it?" He heard a voice ask from behind him. It was Scourge. Sonic looked at the clock. "It's almost..." Sonic trailed off and fell back against the couch, the pain gone from his body in an instant and the most intense euphoria he had ever experienced before. "Woah." Sonic moaned. Scourge walked over to where Sonic was sitting. "What the hell did you do?" Scourge asked. He looked around and saw his black case sitting out on the table and the needle in Sonic's hand.

"What did you do!" Scourge repeated. His heart sank when he finally realized what had happened. Sonic somehow managed to stay upright. The feeling of the heroin coursing it's way through his system was nothing like he had ever experienced before. It had the pain reliving effects of Phenotol minus the time it took to work once it was ingested, and the calming effects of pot, minus the coughing and laughter. Sonic's body felt better than it had in a long time. He felt like he was thirteen again. Scourge ran over to Sonic's side. "Are you ok? How much did you take? Why the hell did you do it?" Scourge asked, firing off multiple questions, worried that what had happened last week was repeating itself. Sonic turned his head toward Scourge. "Relax." He said, lifting his head. After a minute he was able to move freely, having passed the first few minutes after heroin had been injected. The drug had a powerful effect on his body. Rendering it unable to move for a minute. But once the opening effect had worn off, the user could move freely while still experiencing the effects of said drug.

"One," Sonic said. "I'm fine. Two, I only took ten, uh, units, I think? Anyway, the pot wasn't working. I had to try something else to get rid of the pain." Sonic said, pointing at the needle on the table. The worry and fear for his friend was on his face and he wasn't trying to hide it. Scourge sat down right next to Sonic and looked him in the eye. "Are you sure you only took ten?" Scourge asked. Sonic looked through Scourge. "Yeah. What's the big deal?" Sonic asked. By now the heroin had completely made its way into his system, releasing its full effect on Sonic. "Wooo. You should have given this stuff to me earlier. This shit is awesome." Sonic said. By now he felt as if he were floating, but at the same time felt anchored down.

Scourge shook his head. "I gotta be honest man. I'm worried about you. You're taking stuff way too fast. You're not giving your body enough time to recover between uses." Sonic stared at him. "Neither are you." Sonic retorted. Scourge shook his head again. "You don't get it. My body's used to it. I can take the amount of pot we've been smoking for days and not get to the point where it has no effect on my body. You on the other hand, you're not used to this. You've been smoking weed for the last, how long's it been now? Week and four days now. You've been stoned every day since you've been here. God know's I've been no help either. I share just as much blame as you do. Yeah, I could have kept you from smoking for a day or two, let your body recover. But did I? No. I just let it keep going." Scourge stopped a minute to collect his thoughts. Sonic kept blankly staring at him.

"I kept saying, 'Oh, its just pot. It doesn't hurt anyone. Besides, he's been through hell. Let him have as much as he wants." Sonic didn't say a word. "I'm worried about you. You're taking this shit way too fast. You keep going like this; I don't know what'll happen. But I know it won't be good." Scourge finished and sat down again. Sonic calmly stood up. "Let me ask you this. How do you know? How can you be sure that everything's going to go bad? HOW DO YOU FUCKING KNOW!" Sonic screamed. The sudden outburst shook Scourge to his core. Scourge stood up and got right in Sonic's face. "Because I've seen it happen before. Do you have any idea how common it is around here for someone like you to turn into a junkie like that!" Scourge yelled, holding his hand up and snapping his fingers. "I've seen it happen too many times. Guy tries pot. It stop's having the same effects it did. Guy moves to something harder, and the cycle just fucking repeats until he takes too much and he collapses and dies like the pile of shit he is. You're going down that same path." Scourge said.

Sonic took a step back and sat back down. The anger he felt a moment ago had subsided as quickly as it had come, due to the calming effect the heroin was having on him. Sonic let out a small laugh. "You know what? I appreciate where you're coming from and I'm glad you're looking out for me, but you need to stop worrying. I'm fine. I'll tell you what. Since you know a lot more about this than I do, I'll stop for a day. How's that?" Sonic asked, picking up the case and putting the needle back into it's place and handing it to Scourge. Scourge took it and held onto it tightly.

Sonic looked up at the clock. "Okay, it's seven. How about this? I won't smoke any pot until seven tomorrow night. Give myself a day to rest. What do ya think?" Sonic asked. Scourge just stared at Sonic. "You mean it?" Scourge asked. "Yeah. I mean, you're right. I have been doing this shit way too fast." Sonic said. A smile grew on Scourge's face. He got up and took the case back into his room. He came back and sat down next to Sonic. "You're serious?" Scourge asked. Sonic laughed. "Of course I am."

Tails

Tails rolled over on the couch, unable to fall asleep. There was just too much he was focusing on. Sally, Knuckles, Shadow, Sonic, Shadow's plan, himself. Tails sat up. "God I wish I could just shut my brain off." Tails said. He hadn't been sleeping well the last few nights. Waking up every few hours or so, tossing and turning. Having odd dreams. He knew it stemmed from Sonic and the plan that Shadow had. He stood up and grabbed his phone. He walked to the back door and looked outside. There was a full moon out along with a few clouds. It looked almost exactly like it had the last time he had went out at night and fallen asleep. He carefully unlocked the door, trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake Sally. He took a step out the door, but stopped. _What the heck is that noise? _He wondered. He couldn't make out what it was, no matter how intently he listened. He stepped back in the house and listened. It was coming from Sally's room. Tails quietly shut the door and made his way back to her bedroom door. The noise was definitly coming from inside. Even though he was standing right in front of her door, he still couldn't make out what it was.

He pressed his ear against the door and listened. She was crying. Tails backed away from the door. _Dammit. _Tails thought. He knew for a fact she wasn't depressed anymore. He knew this was from Sonic's absence. Tails stood there for a minute, debating whether or not to knock and offer a shoulder. But he backed away. _No. Let her be._ He quietly made his way back to the couch, turned the TV on and lay back down.

Scourge and Sonic

Sonic woke up feeling great. He felt refreshed, unlike when he was smoking pot. When he smoked, he still woke up feeling the effects of it. He knew this feeling of rejuvenation was due to the heroin. The only thing he felt was thirsty. He walked into the kitchen and went to the fridge. He grabbed a beer and took a drink. He welcomed the feeling of something cold and wet hitting his tongue. He walked back to the living room and looked around for Scourge. _I could have sworn we both passed out on the couch._ Sonic thought. "Oh well." He said. He set his beer down and turned on the TV. Any normal person would have been driven mad from doing the same thing every day. But since it was Metropolis, the only alternatives were going out, getting high on drugs that weren't safe or getting shot or stabbed. Just about the only people who went outside besides the dealers and hookers were the police (which were a rare occurrence on the streets) and the rare pizza delivery guy. They made their runs literally. They ran from their cars to the houses and back to their cars in the attempt to avoid getting mugged.

Sonic set his beer down and walked to the bathroom. He opened the door and quickly shut it, trying to deal with the shock of what he had just seen. "Hey! You mind knocking?" It was Scourge. "Geez!" Sonic muttered, "You mind locking the door when you're gonna deal yourself a hand! Fuck! I didn't need to see that!" Sonic said. Blue felt his knees begin to wobble and he grabbed the wall to steady himself. He made his way back to the couch and sat down just as his knees gave in. He held his head in his hands, rubbing both eyes, trying to get the image out of his head. Sonic heard the familiar sound of the toilet flushing and Scourge walking out. Neither said a word as Scourge sat down at the other end, trying to make as keep as far away from Sonic as he could.

They both stared at the TV for a while before either of them said a word. Sonic was first. "Why can't you just lock the door?" He asked. Scourge finally looked at him. "Why can't you learn to knock?" Scourge asked. Sonic still couldn't look at him. "Ugh. Why can't you drop it?" Sonic asked. "Oh I'm sorry. It's my house, so I figured I could do what I wanted without having to lock the doors." Scourge retorted. Sonic had one arm on the arm of the couch, his thumb and index finger rubbing his forehead in a meager attempt to calm his mind. "Yeah I know it's your house. But could you at least lock the bathroom door? I do." Sonic said.

Scourge chuckled. "You do realize you picked a bad time to stop using pot, you know." He said. Sonic looked at the clock and counted. He had ten hours to go.

After the unpleasantness that had happened earlier that morning, Sonic hadn't said anything very much. Scourge had tried, unsuccessfully, to get a response out of him. Asking him random questions and the like, until Scourge gave up. "Well if you're not going to play nice just forget it." Scourge said.

Knuckles

"That was a good one." Knuckles said between breaths. He had just finished his daily routine which, though for some reason, he shortened it. "Guess I could have went a little longer, but I guess that'll do." He said. He made his way to the house to take a shower when he heard his phone ring. He pulled it out and checked the screen to see who it was. 'Shadow'. "Hmm." Knuckles grunted and pushed the call button. "What's up?" He asked. "You busy?" Shadow asked. "No. I was just going to take a shower. What's up?" Knuckles asked. "You better make it quick. I'm coming to get you." Shadow said. Knuckles laughed. "What? Are we going on a date?" Knuckles asked sarcastically. "No. We're going after him. Get ready." Shadow said and hung up the phone.

Tails

"Thanks for taking me out again Tails." Sally said, giving Tails a small peck on the cheek. "I've always wanted to go up in the Tornado." Tails blushed. "No problem. Anytime." He said, looking at his feet and shifting around nervously. Sally giggled. "Did I embarrass you?" She asked playfully. Tails cheeks grew darker. "No, no." He said, suddenly regaining his confidence. "Just caught me off guard." He said. Sally giggled again. "You're a horrible liar about that you know." She said, turning around and making her way to the front door of the house. Tails began walking toward the house when he heard his phone ring. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. 'Shadow' Tails sighed. "This should be good." Tails said as he pushed the call button. "Hello?" He asked as he moved away from the house so Sally wouldn't hear the conversation. "Tails. You busy?" Shadow asked. "Not right now. I just got back with Sally. What's up?" He asked. He still found it weird when Shadow called out of the blue. "Get ready. We're going after Sonic." Shadow said. Tails jaw hit the ground. "What!" He asked. Just try to act like nothing's wrong so Sally doesn't get suspicious."

"So how are we going to do this?" Tails asked, but Shadow had already hung up. Tails stood by the Sally's car, trying to gather his thoughts. "Ok, just make like nothing's wrong." He took a deep breath and walked over to the door and opened it. He walked in and shut the door behind him. He look around in a desperate attempt to find something to do to avoid eye contact with Sally, something, anything to occupy the time until Shadow got there. He thought about doing some cleaning but the house was spotless, thanks to him and Sally, more him than Sally. In his haste looking for a good timewaster, Sally had snuck up behind him. "What took you so long?" She asked. Tails jumped and let out a yelp. He spun around, his eyes wide and his heart beating rapidly. "Oh jeez!" He exclaimed. Sally took a step back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you ok?" She asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. Tails shifted nervously but managed to come to his senses quickly. "Oh. I'm fine. Just thinking about something." He said, acting nonchalant. Tails sat in the recliner next to the window and Sally sat on the couch. She turned on the TV.

_Finally, a distraction._ After a few minutes, Sally spoke. "You know Tails, I've been thinking." She said. "About what?" He asked. "Sonic." She said. "R-really?" He asked. He found it odd that she would say that now since she had shown no signs of missing him since she had opened up to him. Of course, he didn't know what she thought about in private. "What about, if it's ok for me to ask. He said. Sally's looked at him. "You know, just wondering what he's doing, if he's ok, where he is. You know? I mean, I know he's ok, but I still miss him sometimes." She said. Tails stared at his feet. "Yeah. I know what you mean. It' s been keeping me awake at night. Sometimes I just lie there for hours wondering the same thing." He said. Tails phone went off again. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was a text form Shadow. Tails opened it and read it.

'Be there in 5.' Tails put the phone away and turned his focus back to Sally. "What was that about?" She asked. "Someone got the wrong number." He said. Sally laughed. "Sorry for being so nosy." She said. "Ahh. Don't worry bout it."

Sonic

It was only two hours until Blue could blaze up again. He found time had begun to slow to a crawl. The uncomfortable exchanges between Sonic and Scourge had passed somehow and things had returned to normal, minus the mental picture of Scourge that had been burned into Sonic's brain for the rest of his life. Other than that, it was a normal day. There was the usual doings going on, TV, pizza, joking around. The usual. Since Sonic hadn't smoked or injected anything since last night, he began remembering things. He had figured since he had moved in, he had ate his share of almost twelve pizzas, since that was almost all Scourge lived on except for sandwiches, pizza, beer and water, the latter of which tasted horrible, and had smoked pot every night since he had arrived and had been almost perpetually stoned during his time here.

He also noticed he had gained ten pounds. Not good for some one who had ran every day then stopped suddenly. Sonic looked at the clock. "Hmmm. Two hours to go. You know, I'm kinda glad I did this." Sonic said. "What?" Scourge asked, turning his attention to Sonic. "Stopped smoking." He said. "Of course, when your sober, you see shit for what it is. Boring as hell." Sonic said. "Yeah. I know what you mean." Scourge said.

"Wait, you mean you haven't smoked since I stopped?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Scourge said. Sonic laughed. He paused for a second then spoke. "We'll, I made it this far, you think I should celebrate early?" Sonic asked.

"Sure. I just didn't smoke any since you weren't. Didn't want to be rude. Be right back." Scourge said, getting up to retrieve the bag. He came back a minute later holding the bag and his pipe. Sonic looked at it like he had found a lost friend. "I missed you." He said to the bag. Scourge gave him a funny look. "You have lost your mind." He said, packing the pipe and handing it to Sonic. Sonic took it from Scourge's hand. "You're not going first?" Sonic asked. "Nah. I figured why not let you be the first to celebrate your sobriety." Scourge said.

Sonic grinned. "Guess I can't pass that up." Sonic said. He took the lighter and struck it, holding the flame to the bowl at the end and inhaled, the suction causing the flame to pass through the pot in the bowl. He breathed deep, allowing the smoke to fill his lungs. He took the pipe away and handed it to Scourge. A few seconds later, he exhaled, blowing the smoke out. "I hope it works this time." Sonic said. Scourge made a muffled response. Scourge repeated Sonic's actions and put the pipe on the table and leaned back. After waiting a few minutes, Sonic decided to test the waters. "You know what's been bothering me?" Sonic asked.

"No." Scourge said. Sonic glanced at him. "If a camera lens is round, why do the pictures come out square?" Sonic asked. Scourge said nothing, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. Sonic pointed at him. "Dude, I think you're stoned." Sonic said. Scourge managed to stop laughing long enough to answer him. "You think?"

Shadow & Knuckles

"You ready?" Shadow asked Knuckles. Red locked the door to his house and put the key away. "Yeah." He said, letting out a sigh as he turned and walked down off the small porch. "So what's the plan?" Knuckles asked. That particular question had been burning a hole in his head ever since he had heard about it. "I'll tell you when we get to Tails. You ready?" Shadow asked. Knuckles nodded. "Let's go." Shadow said as the pair headed off toward Sally's house. The trip was made in complete silence, which suited both just fine. _This plan of his better be good. _Knuckles thought as they made their way through the countryside. They made it to Sally's a short while later. Both stopped just outside the small fence that surrounded the yard.

"You ready to do this?" Knuckles asked. "Hrmph." Shadow grunted. The pair walked up to the door and knocked. "It's open." A voice called from inside. Knuckles opened the door and the pair walked in. The first thing they noticed was Tails, sitting in one of the big recliners, watching TV. He turned his attention to the pair. "Hey guys." Tails said, the usual enthusiasm in his voice gone. "Hey Tails." Knuckles replied, holding up one of his gloved hands. The three could hear Sally moving around in the house. "What's going on?" They heard her call out. "Oh you know," Knuckles said. "Just in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by." He said.

Sonic

"What the hell?" Sonic wondered out loud. The high he was on had already begun to fade to the point he felt normal. "Well this is just perfect." Sonic said. "You sure this stuff's any good?" He asked Scourge, but there was no reply. Scourge had fallen asleep. Sonic shook him slightly, trying to get him to stir, but it didn't do any good. Blue sat there; disgusted his joyous reunion with weed had been so disappointing. Sonic reached out for the pipe and the bag, but stopped. "What's the point? It's not going to do anything." Suddenly it hit him. _Why didn't I think of it sooner? _Sonic thought. Sonic jumped up and headed around the back of the couch and toward Scourge's room. He stopped and patted Scourge on the shoulder, hard. "Thanks bud." Scourge just sat there, sleeping. "Yeah. You're not going to wake up? Are you?" Sonic asked. Nothing.

He made his way towards the bedroom door and opened it. Sonic took a deep breath and exhailed. "Now where would he put something so valuable?" Sonic wondered out loud. He scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Sonic took a step in and shut the door behind him just enough to close it, but where it was still open slightly. Blue looked around for a minute and spotted Scourge's 'hiding spot'. He walked over to where it was and picked up a small object and shook his head in disbelief. "I guess it would fool someone breaking in looking for something to steal." Sonic said. It was a large can of beer. Blue twisted the top and pulled it off, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside was what he was looking for. He turned it upside down and shook slightly. A second later, a small case fell out. "Hrmph. Hiding your stash in plain sight. That's a good one." Sonic said.

He took his treasure and sat on Scourge's bed. Opening it, he grabbed the first syringe he saw and took it out of the case. Blue sat there, staring at the needle in his hand. His mind drifting back to yesterday. He remembered the rush he felt when the stuff entered his body the first time. It was incredible. Completely different from pot, and not like when he had taken pills. There was nothing he could compare it to. Sonic looked around for something to tie his arm with, anything that would work. Usually, when one wanted to inject, they used some kind of rubber band or bungee cord. But in a situation like this where one had access to heroin, but was one of the three people on the planet that had it and didn't use it, it was difficult to find a tie-off.

Sonic looked around but found nothing he could really use. He decided on one of Scourge's old shirts. He put the needle on the bed and bent down to grab it. _Now how do I..._Sonic stood up quickly and faced Scourge's bed. He grabbed one of the sleeves with one hand and the opposite corner at the bottom, and twisted it like he was making a rat-tail. Blue laid the rolled up shirt on the bed and got on his knees, laying his forearm on the shirt and threw one side over his arm. He grabbed the other end and pulled it over the opposite way.

Then, using his free arm, he made a knot. Sonic stood up, half bent over, and stepped on the end that was closest to him. He grabbed the other end, and pressing down with all his weight, pulled on the other end, causing the shirt to squeeze his arm, making the veins more accessible. Sonic stood up and sat back down, picking the needle up. He took the cap off, the light slightly reflecting off of it. Blue scanned his arm, looking for a good entry point. _Let's see. Where's a good... There we go. _Sonic locked eyes on his chosen spot and placed the point of the needle against his skin. He took a deep breath and pressed the tip into his skin. He felt a slight stinging sensation as it broke through his skin. Blue pulled the plunger back a bit, causing a little blood to enter into the syringe signifying that he had hit the vein. "Let's see. How much did I do last time?" Sonic asked himself. He thought back to yesterday. His memory was a little hazy, but he remembered how much he had taken. He also remembered the pain he had felt. It was excruciating and he knew he never wanted to experience that pain again.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the plunger down until there were five units left. Sonic pulled the needle out and tossed it carelessly on the bed beside him. As soon as he did, he felt the familiar numbing sensation come over him. He fell backward on Scourge's bed and smiled.

Knuckles, Shadow, Tails & Sally

The three stood there until Sally came out from the back of the house. "Hey Sally, come here." Tails called out. The fox gave Knuckles a nervous look, and Knuckles put his hand on Tails' shoulder, reassuring him and calming Tails down. Sally walked in a minute later. "Hey guys! What's going on?" She asked cheerfully. Tails looked at her, his usual cheerful, happy expression turned serious. "Sit down Sally. I have something to tell you." Tails said and motioned for her to sit down on the couch. "Okay." She said, unsure of what was happening. Sally sat down on the couch and Tails sat down beside her. He wasn't comfortable with what he was about to do, but he had been elected to deliver the news to her. Shadow figured it would be easiest to hear about Sonic from someone she had been close to.

"So what's going on?" She asked, giving off a nervous chuckle. Knuckles sat down beside Tails and Shadow sat in the recliner next to the couch. Tails took a breath to calm himself and took Sally's hand in his. "Um... I don't quite know how to say this so instead of dragging it out I'll just come out with it." Tails said. "We found Sonic." Sally's eyes grew wide with disbelief. The words she didn't think she would ever hear had finally been said. The only sound she made was a faint whimper. She sat there motionless, stunned by the news that had been delivered, almost as if she had been told that both her parents were dead, then being slapped by the messenger. "That's good news, right?" Tails asked nervously. "Right?"

Neither Knuckles nor Shadow said a word. Sally stood up and walked toward the back of the house. "Sally?" Tails called out as she took off running. A second later the three heard a door slam and the sounds of vomiting coming from the bathroom. The three looked at each other and none had to say a word. They stood up in unison and walked toward the bathroom. Shadow and Knuckles hung back as Tails stood outside the door. They waited quietly as the sound of Sally retching turned to dry heaving. Then crying. But not normal, everyday sad crying, but full, loud sobbing/screaming. Knuckles wiped away a tear. He had never heard crying like the kind that he was hearing now. Tails put his hand on the bathroom door and opened it slowly. The sight he saw almost made him break down himself.

Sally was lying on the floor in front of the toilet, her mouth lightly spotted with bits of vomit and drool. She was also in the fetal position; her knees pulled up to her chest. Tails made his way over to where she was and reached out and pushed the handle on the toilet to flush it. He knelt down beside her and gently lifted her up off the floor and embraced her, trying to console her the best he could. His ears cried out in pain from Sally's loud sobbing, but he ignored them. It was her he was worried about. Tails rubbed her back, trying to soothe her as best he could, whispering "It's ok. Let it out."

It worked and a few minutes later she broke away from him. She sat indian style in front of him. Tails grabbed a washcloth off the towel rack and turned the Hot and Cold knobs on the sink. The whole time, Knuckles and Shadow had stood there, watching the whole scent unfold in front of them. Tails looked at them, soaking the washcloth and ringing it out. "Can you guys give me a minute with her?" Tails asked, ringing the excess water from it. "Sure." Knuckles said, turning around and walking back out to the living room. Shadow gave him a small nod and followed suit behind Knuckles.

Tails shut the door and turned his attention back to Sally. He handed the washcloth to Sally and she wiped her mouth. By now the shock of hearing that Sonic had been found and the resulting sobbing jag had passed. She tossed the washcloth into the hamper and grabbed the mouthwash, filled the cap up and took a mouthful. Shadow and Knuckles looked at each other, trying to come up with something to talk about. Anything to break the uncomfortable tension that the two felt, but the only sound that could be heard was Sally crying.

Sonic

Sonic lay on Scourge's bed, mesmerized by the sheer amount of pleasure he was feeling. Even though it was only his second time indulging in heroin, it felt like an old friend. As he lay there, waiting for the numbness to wear off, several thoughts wandered into his head. He wondered why everyone thought heroin was so bad. During his freedom fighter days, he had seen his share of what drugs could do to a person, mostly in the slums and where Robotnik had dug in the deepest, like Metropolis. The city had never fully recovered after Robotnik had been forced out. Now, the streets were filled with dealers and junkies. It wasn't uncommon to see someone OD on crack, heroin or some other type of drug right on the street.

Of course, Sonic wasn't like them. At first, he thought he might have a problem, but dismissed it as quickly as it had come. The numbness had begun to wear off and he sat up, rubbing his head. "Ohh." He moaned as the drug took full effect. Sonic stood up, opened the door and walked out, satisfied that he finally had the high he needed. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. The thought of getting some water instead crossed his mind, but he remembered how horrible it tasted. So he opted for the better tasting of the two. He sat down on the couch next to the still passed out Scourge. As his body hit the cushion, his entire body felt like it exploded. He felt like he was being jabbed with needles from head to toe, kind of like when your arm or leg fell asleep, but not as intense.

Sonic took notice immediately. This was a new sensation and he welcomed it with open arms. Blue opened his beer and took a drink. The inside of his mouth felt like a desert and it welcomed the moisture. Turning on the TV, he flipped until he found something decent. A war movie. Not his cup of tea, but the only thing on that was halfway decent.

Knuckles, Shadow, Tails & Sally

After she had cleaned up and calmed down, Sally made her way back to where Shadow and Knuckles were, with Tails in tow. Knuckles turned his attention to her, concern on his face. "You gonna be ok?" He asked. He hadn't ever heard screaming and crying like he had heard and hoped he never had to again. Sally smiled. "Yeah. I'll be fine. It's just, I didn't think we'd find him." Until now, she thought Sonic had left to sort out what had happened with Amy. A smile appeared on Knuckle's face as well. _I guess Tails did her some good._ Shadow stood up, clearing his throat. The three turned their attention to him. "Let's get down to business. The best way of going about this that I could come up with is, me, Knuckles and Tails go to Metropolis and bring him back, no matter what." Tails and Knuckles looked at each other. "Um," Knuckles said, "Are you sure that's going to work? I mean, that doesn't make a lot of sense. We go there and force him to come back with us? It's not going to work. And if it does, he'll just end up hating us. If he's going to do something, it has to be by his own accord. I think the only way we can do this is convince him to come back. Get help, you know?"

Shadow didn't say a word. Of course, he had his own selfish plans. He had feelings for Sally, but he didn't act on them. Even he knew better than that. You don't make a move on someone else's girl. He just didn't want to see her suffer at the hands of Sonic, but he also wanted to make him suffer. _Either way, it's a win-win for me. _Shadow decided to go along with it. "You're right Red. That is better than what I came up with." Shadow said. Knuckles spoke up next. "So when do we leave?" He asked. The three turned back to Shadow. "I guess now is as good a time as any. If we leave now, we should be there in an hour." Shadow said.

"Right." Knuckles and Tails said in unison. Shadow walked over to the door and Knuckles and Tails followed behind him. Just as Shadow opened the door, Sally stopped them. "Wait." She said. The three turned their attention to her. "I want to come with you." She said.

Knuckles and Tails exchanged nervous glances. "Um, are you sure about that? I mean, what if-" Sally put her hand on Tails shoulder. The expression on her face told the whole story. She wasn't about to take no for an answer. Tails laughed. "I guess there's no point in arguing."

Sally looked at Shadow. "I take it you know where he is?" Sally asked. "Yeah." Shadow replied. "You guys can follow me. I take it slow so you can follow in the car Sally." Shadow said. Sally nodded. Shadow and Sally walked out and Tails pulled Knuckles aside. "I gotta be honest, I don't think it's a good idea for her to go with us." Knuckles looked at Tails. "What're you talking about? She seems fine to me." Knuckles said. I bet Sonic comes back like that." He said, snapping his fingers. "I don't know. I just hope she'll be all right." Tails said as they walked outside, unable to shake the uneasiness.

On the outside, she was her usual, unshakeable self. But on the inside, she was panicking. The last time she had seen him, the only thing's he had left were a 'Dear John' letter and a broken up bathroom. Not exactly the greatest going away present. But, she knew if she had to do it, even if she had to force herself to. Shadow stood by the side of the road, waiting for Sally to back out. "Let's go." He called out. Sally put the car in gear and backed out. As soon as she was on the road, Shadow took off. Knuckles followed behind and Tails took off like a helicopter. Sally took a deep breath and put the car in gear.

Sonic

It had been a good while since Sonic had 'Shot up' and he was still feeling the effects. It was almost the same as last time. Like pot, minus the laughing and random nonsense that was spouted out. This time there was a new sensation. He felt as if he were wrapped in layers of warm blankets. He had not felt this comfortable in a long time. Just as he was getting comfortable, he felt Scourge begin to stir. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Scourge yawned. He stretched until his muscles felt like they were going to break, then went limp. "Oh, damn. What time is it?" He asked. Scourge looked at the clock and counted. "Oh, wow. Seven hours. Not bad. Morning." He said to Sonic as he got up and headed to the bathroom. "Hey." Sonic replied. After finishing up, Scourge came back out and grabbed the bag of pot.

"You know, I really got to start putting this away when I'm done with it. You want any?" Scourge asked. "I'm good." Sonic said. "OK." Scourge took the bag and headed back to his room. _Oh Shit!_ Sonic thought. He forgotten to put the needle back. He began to panic. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" He mumbled to himself. And right on cue, Scourge ran back into the living room, holding the needle in front of him like a piece of evidence in court. "What the fuck? You gonna do this every time I go to sleep?" Sonic didn't respond. "Oh look! He's passed out. Time to raid his stash. Jesus. I'm gonna have to lock it up aren't I?" Scourge asked, tossing the needle on the coffee table and sitting back down beside Sonic. Blue looked blankly at him for a minute before speaking. "I'm sorry." He said.

Scourge looked at him. "Look. If you're going to start using that stuff, be careful. I can't tell you what to do, but I've been out here long enough to know what happens when it gets out of control." Scourge said. _That's a good one. _Sonic thought. Of course, he went along with it. Nodding at the important points, but generally ignoring it. He knew what he could and could not handle. He wasn't about to let some worthless asshole tell him what to do. "Just be careful, ok? I think your starting to overdo it." Scourge said. Sonic laughed inside. _Oh that's even better. You can get as much of this shit as you want and you're telling me that I'm overdoing it? Guess it wouldn't hurt to play along. _

_Sonic put on his best poker face. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. Tell you what, if I do more of that," Sonic said, pointing to the needle on the table, "I'll ask first. How's that?" Sonic asked. Scourge thought for a minute and decided that was the best course of action. "Well, I guess I can't stop you. I just hope you don't overdo it." He said. Sonic gave Scourge a pat on the back. "Well, now that that's over, what are we doing today?" Sonic asked. Scourge glanced at Sonic. "Since we're almost out of food and money, I gotta take what's left of that," Scourge said, pointing to the needle, "and try to get a little money so we can eat. It shouldn't be hard. I usually sell out in twenty minutes." Scourge said as he got up. He grabbed the needle off the table and headed back to his room. Sonic sat there, the heroin still running through him. He thought it would have worn off by now, but it was still surprisingly strong. Scourge came back a minute later, carrying the case with the needles. He put them in his pockets and opened the door. "I should be back in an hour or two." Scourge said. Sonic laughed. "Unless you get so high you lose track of time. Like last time." Sonic said. Scourge laughed. "Don't worry. I'll be back." Scourge said, as he closed the door behind him._

_A/N: Well, there's another one down. Don't forget to review, and please be honest. It's not going to hurt my feelings or anything like that. If there's something you didn't like, let me know. _


	11. Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 11

Sorry about the delay. I meant to have this done sooner, but I just haven't had time to do any lately. And if you review and want me to respond quickly, send it to me in an e-mail. It should be on my profile. I'd do it on my phone, but for some reason, it won't let me log on to the fan fic website to reply. Enjoy.

Sally, Knuckles, Tails & Shadow

The four pushed onward toward Metropolis, trying to get to the outskirts of the city before nightfall. Even though it was still early in the day, they knew they would be out until late that night at the least. It took a good two hours to go from Metropolis and back. It wasn't something that would normally worry them, but they would be dealing with Sonic's unpredictable behavior. They knew it wouldn't be the normal, happy Sonic they were used to seeing.

Shadow made his way along the road, the other three following him. It would take them an extra 45 minutes to reach Metropolis since they had to stick to the roads because of Sally. Knuckles and Tails followed close behind Shadow, following his every move. "So how long will it take?" Knuckles asked, breaking the silence over the three. No one had said much since they had taken off. Their mind's were focused on Sonic. Even Tails, who was usually talkative, was unusually quiet, but wasn't unusual given the circumstances. Shadow glanced at Knuckles. "It shouldn't be too long. I'd guess about 30 minutes at the least." Shadow said. Knuckles nodded. Tails sped up so he was right behind Knuckles and Shadow. "Do you think Sally will be alright?" He asked. He had every right to be worried. No one knew what would happen when she would be face to face with Sonic. Tails was worried for her safety. "I don't know. I think we should keep a close eye on her." Knuckles said without turning around.

"Yeah." Tails said in agreement. After a few minutes, Shadow spoke up. "Shouldn't be too long now." He said, pointing off into the distance. Tails and Knuckles looked off in the direction he was pointing. The outline of Metropolis was visible. Seeing the city, Shadow and Knuckles increased their speed. Tails however dropped back, keeping pace with Sally. He lowered his altitude enough where he could look in on her, and the look on her face told the story. The stress that had hung in the air had clearly taken a toll on her. She didn't look bad, but she looked like she had aged a couple of years. He also noticed that it looked like she had been crying again. He had begun to lose count how much she had actually been doing, not to mention what she did behind closed doors.

He sped up just enough to get ahead of her and turned around and waived. Sally returned the gesture, smiling brightly. When he saw her face, he definitely noticed that she had been crying, but not like he thought . He didn't even have to be close to her to know that. Over the time he had been staying with her, which turned out to be a good thing, he had gotten to know Sally as well as she knew herself. Tails sped up until he had caught up with Shadow and Knuckles. "Hey Shadow, how far are we from Metropolis?" Tails asked. "Shouldn't be too long now." He said, not even bothering to turn his head. "I looked in on her." Tails said.

"And?" Knuckles asked. "She's been crying again. But it's not as bad as it usually is. I just hope she can hold it together." Tails said. Shadow didn't like what he had heard. "I think we should ride with her from here." Shadow said. Knuckles and Tails nodded in unison. It made sense in more ways than one. For one, it would keep Sally from having another breakdown and driving off the road. Shadow also knew that it would be much easier for all of them to get to their destination if they rode with Sally. He looked toward Metropolis and saw it was only a few minutes away. Shadow raised a hand and motioned for Sally and the others to stop. She obeyed and pulled over. Shadow walked up to the window. "You mind if I hitch a ride?" He asked. Sally smiled and nodded and the three climbed in and shut the doors.

Sonic

Scourge had been gone for almost two hours, which had left Sonic alone. He was still feeling the full on heroin rush. It felt wonderful. His entire body felt light, almost as if he was floating. A light, tingling sensation moved up and down his body, just enough where he could feel it. His head was a different story. It felt like his mind was in a fog, unable to do the simplest task. Yet, perfectly clear at the same time. It was like he was high, yet he felt like he was completely sober. Sonic sat slumped back against the couch, riding one of the best high's he had ever had. "I need to get more of this." He said out loud. Blue let his mind drift wherever it wanted, as was usually the case when he had shot up. It bounced around from various thoughts.

All of a sudden, he began thinking back to when Scourge had voiced his concern about Sonic's little 'problem'. He wasn't sure why. Of course, Sonic lied his butt off about how he would try to keep himself from raiding Scourge's stash. The only thing he was sorry about was using the only source of income that Scourge had. _Around here, it's either sell or sell yourself._ Sonic thought. It had become the unofficial motto with the dealers around town, and he knew he'd rather get his stuff from a friend and take a little heat than getting it out there and catching God only knows. Sonic pulled himself up and to a sitting position, letting out a long sigh. The heroin still had a strong hold, though it had begun to weaken slightly by now. Sonic looked at the wall clock and counted. "One, two... hmph. Two and a half hours this time. Still not bad." He said.

Sonic pulled himself off the couch with only a little trouble and walked around a bit to get the stiffness out. It was hard to keep himself from falling over, but he somehow managed to stay standing. The thought about going outside crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed that. So he settled on getting what sun he could from the windows and a beer. Sonic managed to somehow make his way to the kitchen, only stumbling slightly a few times and came back a moment later, beer in one hand, remote in another. Besides the unpleasantness earlier between Scourge and himself, the day had been great. "The only thing that would top this day off is if I got some." Sonic said, and turned on the TV as the fogginess in his mind began to slowly lift.

Sally

Sally pulled away from the side of the road and headed towards Metropolis. It wouldn't be long now until they reached the outside of the city. As they got closer, she thought about Sonic more and more, and the more questions she wanted to ask him. Why had he left? Was it her fault? Why had he chosen to come here? Did he still love her? Would he go back with them? It was surprising she was able to keep the car on the road. Before she knew it, they had reached Metropolis. Shadow had begun giving out directions, but she barely paid attention. Her mind was focused squarely on Sonic. In fact, the only sentence she actually heard Shadow say was, "Pull over here."

Sally turned the wheel, pulling the car close to the curb and behind the car in front of them, obviously belonging to whoever was in the house next door. Sally turned the engine off and leaned back against the seat, her mind racing with a thousand ways this could end up. Shadow turned back to Knuckles and Tails. "You guys ready to do this?" He asked. Knuckles wrung his hands in anticipation. "Oh yeah." He said.

Tails didn't show a great amount of confidence, but tried to put on a brave face. "Yeah." He replied. He was like Sally, wondering how his best friend had been this whole time. His heart was racing in anticipation and his thoughts which were usually focused, were scattered. "You OK?" Knuckles asked. Neither Tails nor Sally had made an attempt to get out. Both had sat there, lost in there thoughts. Tails shook his head back and forth. "Sorry. Just thinking." He said, pulling the handle on the door and opening it. He got out and turned around and saw Sally still sitting in the drivers seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel. Tails let out a long sigh. He poked his head through the window and lightly touched Sally on the shoulder. "Hey. You OK?" He asked. Sally jumped in her seat.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You just gonna sit here or get out?" He asked. Sally took her hands off the wheel and opened the door. "Sorry. Just lost in thought I guess." She said, getting out and shutting the door behind her. This set of Tails' internal alarm. _God, I just hope she can make it through this. _Tails noticed that on the way over when no one was watching, her emotions came out. Even after they had gotten in the car with her, she had hid them well, but not well enough. But the closer they got, the more she tried to hide them. Now, she didn't show any at all, and he knew that was a bad sign. But there wasn't much he could do about it now. He knew the only thing that he could do was hope that she didn't flip out completely. Sally walked around and joined the other three. "Ready?" Shadow asked. The others nodded there heads in unison, and they walked up to the front door.

Sonic

The TV was on but Sonic hadn't really been paying attention. It was just there mostly to provide background noise. But every once in a while, he found something worthwhile. He had actually found a good movie. Enough time had passed since he shot up that he was finally starting to come down. It wasn't fun when you came down from heroin. It felt like the worst hangover ever and the worst case of flu combined. Sonic knew that smoking a little more pot would He went to Scourge's room and grabbed the bag of pot and dived in. After three hits, he felt good. Pot had once again had some sort of an effect on him. Of course, it still wasn't as intense as it had been his first time, but he was relieved it finally had some effect. Sonic put the bag back in it's place, making sure that it was just as he had left it. Even though Scourge had told him he could have at it, he didn't want it to look like he had just walked in and did as he pleased.

Sonic took one last look around to make sure everything looked normal. "That should do." He said casually, shutting the door behind him. Scourge had been gone for a while now. Sonic wasn't sure how long, but he figured at least two hours, and he figured it would be at least another hour before he got back. Blue made it back to the living room, which he had began calling his bedroom. The movie he was watching was almost over and he reached out for the remote, but decided against it. "Probably not gonna be anything on anyway." He reasoned and laughed a little. "But it couldn't hurt to take a look." He said. He reached for the remote again, but just as his hand closed around it, there was a knock at the door.

Sonic took his hand off the remote and turned his head toward the door. _What the.. _The sudden noise took him by surprise. He hadn't heard anyone knock on the door except for the pizza guy. Blue started to get up but sat back down. The knock repeated itself. Sonic shook his head. "Yeah. Keep on knocking. I ain't gonna fall for it Scourge." Sonic turned his attention back to the TV. (_Knock, knock, knock_) Sonic continued to ignore it. "Not gonna work buddy. Oh wait. Let me guess. I open the door and you kick me in the balls. Right? Yeah. No dice." Sonic said. This time the it wasn't soft. (_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_) This time the sound made Sonic jump. He leapt to his feet. "Ok. Enough is enough. You got me up. Ha, ha." Sonic said, walking over to the door. Blue grabbed the knob and turned, but it wasn't Scourge. "Remember me?" Shadow said.

Blue wasn't prepared for what he saw. Instead of Scourge standing there, it was Shadow. Sonic didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to think. All he could do was stand there and stare. "I told you I'd be back. Didn't I?" Shadow asked. Sonic tried to take a step back, but he couldn't move. His feet were frozen to the floor and his knees were shaking. He had to hold on to the doorknob just to stay standing.. "Wh-wh-what-" Sonic stammered. "Am I doing here?" Shadow finished for him. "Like I told you last time. I came back to get you and bring you home." Sonic had started to gather himself again. He took his hand off the knob and he was able to stand by himself. "You're gonna do it? By yourself? If I remember correctly, last time we fought, I won. Let's see you do it." Sonic said, taking a half-assed fighting stance. "Did you think I came alone?" Shadow asked. He took a step back and made a motion with his hand. Knuckles, Tails and Sally walked in front of Shadow and stood in front of the doorway.

The five of them stood there, staring at each other, taking it in. Sonic didn't think he would ever see Sally again after he left. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He wanted to give her something better than a broken down shell of a man just going through life day by day, not really himself. He didn't feel that he could provide for her as he had done before. Supporting her with his writing, something that he had all most forgotten about. In fact, it was because of those books he had written that he was the way he was now. His life was misery. From the moment he was born, fighting to stay alive and fighting to survive the war, to living through the hell he had been through with the one who's name he no longer said, to now. His life was misery. Blue wasn't about to let her suffer along with him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His vision went blurry and he felt his legs give out underneath him. "Sonic!" A voice cried out as he hit the ground. Just before he blacked out, he saw Sally kneeling beside him, holding his head in his arms.

Sally, Knuckles, Tails & Shadow

"Help me get him up." Sally demanded as she held Sonic in her arms. She didn't think that when she saw him again he would be passed out. Knuckles grabbed Sonic under his arms and Tails grabbed his legs. They both lifted him up at the same time, making there way to the couch and gently setting him down. Sally knelt down beside him, rubbing his hand. It had been so long since she had seen him. He looked different now. He weighed at least 15 pounds less from what she could tell and he looked like he had aged at least 5 years. He looked thinner than she remembered. Not like he used to. Before, he was cut with lean muscle. Now he looked almost like a shell of his former self. But she didn't notice anything unusual/ She was just happy that she was finally able to see him again. _As soon as you wake up, I'm gonna take you home._

After a minute, Sally spoke. "He better wake up soon." She said. Tails walked over to where the two were. "He just passed out from the shock of seeing me." He said. Tails watched Sally. She looked happier than ever, and that made him smile inside. "So, you OK?" Tails asked.

Sally took her attention off of Sonic and turned it to Tails. "I'm fine. Even better if I had him home with me, but at least I know he's safe." She said. She bent down and gave him a small kiss. Not on the lips but on the cheek. "I guess it would be a waste if you can't return it." She said, and took his hand in hers. As she took hold of his hand, something on his arm caught her attention. Sally turned his hand so it was palm up. "Hey guys, look at this." She said, unsure of what she was looking at. Tails, Knuckles and Shadow made their way over to where she was. "Is that normal?" She asked, pointing at Sonic's arm.

Tails, Knuckles and Shadow looked at Sonic's arm. It was covered with tiny red marks. The three let out a collective sigh and backed off. "What?" Sally asked. The three didn't respond. Tails bowed his head, Knuckles looked away and Shadow remained silent. The four of them now knew the bitter truth. Knuckles walked over. "Um, I don't want to sound like an a-hole here, but don't you think we should try to wake him up?" He asked. Tails and Sally agreed. Sally shook him slightly, trying to gently wake him up. "Sonic?" She whispered. "Sonic..." She repeated. Nothing. "Hold on." Knuckles said, disappearing for a second. Tails heard the sound of water running from the kitchen. He returned a minute later carrying a glass of water. Sally didn't notice that Knuckles was standing over them both.

"Let me try." Knuckles said. Sally looked up and saw Knuckles standing over Sonic with the glass of water. She got up as quick as she could. As soon as she was out of the way, Knuckles poured the glass out and over Sonic. The water hit him and Sonic bolted upright, coughing from some of the water making it's way up his nose. "What the...!" He exclaimed, forgetting what had happened before he passed out. He looked around, wiping the water out of his eyes. At first, he thought it was a dream. But slowly he realized that it was reality. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked. He was surprised they had all come. Sally looked at him. "We came to get you. I need you. We all need you." Sally said. Tails and Knuckles nodded in agreement. Shadow just scoffed, which was his way of saying 'I do to'. "We miss you. Hell, things haven't been the same since you left." Tails said. Knuckles cleared his throat. "Yeah. What if something happened? You know, like Robotnik decided to try something? I'd have to stop him by myself and I know you'd hate that." He said, laughing.

Sonic laughed too, but he stopped. He turned to Sally and looked her in the eyes. Inside he was in pain. It had been a while since he last shot up and it was getting hard to focus. Sonic took a breath, trying to clear his mind enough to focus on them and not his next hit. "I know you guys came all this way and I appreciate that. But, do you remember why I left in the first place?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Sally said quietly. She turned to the others. "C-can you guys step outside for a minute?" She asked. The three nodded in agreement. "We'll be outside if you need us." Knuckles said and headed for the door with Shadow. Tails was the last to go. Before he did, he turned to look at Sonic and flashed him a big grin, trying to hide his emotions, something he was not used to. Words weren't needed at all between them. Tails already knew what Sonic's answer was going to be, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it.

Once the three were outside, Sally turned her attention to Sonic. "Yeah. I know why you left." She said, taking his hand. "You said you didn't want to hurt me. What did you mean when you said that?" She asked. By now, enough time had passed that he was thinking about his next fix more and more, but he somehow managed to force those thoughts to the back of his mind. "When I said I didn't want to hurt you, I meant I didn't want to make you suffer along with me anymore. You remember how I used to wake up at night with the nightmares about Amy?" He asked. "Yeah. I'd wake up and you'd be breathing hard, sweating and I'd ask you what happened." Sally let out a small laugh. "Heh. You'd never tell me the truth right away. You'd always say it was something else. But eventually I'd get it out of you. We'd talk about it, then you'd go back to sleep." She said. Sonic squeezed her hand. "There was more. Do you remember when I was in the hospital after I had come back?" Sally thought way back to when he had come home. "Yeah. I got a call from them saying the sheriff had driven you there. I still don't know how you managed to drive yourself in the condition you were in." She said.

Sonic took a deep breath. "Do you remember that he stopped giving me pain meds?" He asked. Sally thought back. "Yeah." Coming out with everything like he was had proved more difficult than he had imagined. Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat and continued. "Well, he stopped because I was taking too many. At first it was fine. I had you to take my mind off the pain." He said, looking her in the eyes. "But as time went on, it got to be too much. I found another doctor and he gave me what I needed. It started simple enough. Just two every four hours. Like the bottle said, you know?" As Sonic said those words, the wheels in Sally's mind began to turn and the gears began to click. It all made sense to her now. "But soon you were taking way too many? Weren't you?" She asked. Sonic didn't reply, only nodding his head. "Is that why I found those pills in the bathroom?" She asked. Sonic nodded again. "So why didn't you tell me? We're supposed to tell each other everything." She said. "I don't know." He said. Sally knew by now that this wasn't going anywhere. She knew he wasn't coming back on his own. "Let me ask you one more question." She asked. "What happened to your arm?" She asked, pointing at his right arm. Sonic turned his arm over, the small red 'tracks' on his arm in full view. _God I hope those aren't what I think they are. _She thought. Sally already knew what they were but she didn't want to accept it. Sonic looked at his arm. "What? These?" He asked, holding his arm up. Sally held her breath, hoping the next words out of his mouth would be the ones she wanted to hear. "Damn insect bites. Being here, you don't know what crawls around at night." He said, giving off a nervous laugh. "Yeah. You have to be careful around here." She said. By now the withdrawal pain had become severe.

It had been a while since he had shot up, and now the effects were beginning to gather steam. When he first started, he wondered why the withdrawal symptoms had hit him as hard and quick as they did. It took him a while, but he remembered something his doctor had told him when he had escaped from Amy's. Sonic knew he had begun to develop a problem with pain meds about 2 months before his escape. "She had me taking, uh... oh hell, what're they called?" He asked himself. "Phenotol." He said, remembering the name. "It's weird. When I took them, they worked fine at first, but they didn't last that long. Is that normal?" Sonic asked the doctor. The doctor grabbed the chart and thumbed through it. "Well, I think I have the answer. I believe it's because you have a unique physiology." The doctor said. Sonic didn't understand what he meant. "What does that mean?" He asked. "Well," The doctor began, clearing his throat before continuing. "It's no secret that you can run at blazing fast speeds." Sonic grinned. It made him happy whenever someone mentioned that.

"And since you're capable of that, your heart beats and pumps blood faster than normal. That being said, when we take a medication orally, it goes to the stomach, where once absorbed by the body, it gets into the bloodstream. The time it takes to have an effect varies from person to person. The good news is in your case is, anything you put in you gets absorbed faster than normal. But on the downside, it also dissipates quicker than normal. For example, if something were to take around an hour to take effect in a normal person, it would take about ten to fifteen minutes in you." He had forgotten that conversation. He was so lost in thought that he barely heard Sally say his name.

"Sonic?" Sally said. Sonic shook his head. "I'm sorry. What?" He asked. Sally laughed. "I said you have to be careful around here." Sally said. Inside, any hope she had of bringing him back right then died. She knew it would have to be his decision and his alone. To finally admit he had a problem. Sally got up from where she was bent down. "I can see you still need some more time." She said. "Sally..." Sonic said quietly. "I love you." He said. "I know." She said, making her way to the door. She put her hand on the knob and turned it, but stopped before she opened it. Sally turned her head so she was looking at Sonic from the side, but not facing him completely. "I still love you. But not the way you are now. You need help. And when you decide you want it, I'll be waiting." She said, opening the door and walking out.

Sonic just sat there, staring at the door. "Help? Help for what?" He asked. He had become so dialed in to the drug at this point, he didn't even realize he had a problem. By now, the pain had completely taken over. It wasn't severe enough to warrant screaming, but it was there. His stomach was turning in knots and he felt like throwing up. Sonic moaned and lay down on the couch. He knew there wasn't anything he could do until Scourge got back. "I hope he gets back soon. I guess he's the only friend I have now." Sonic said as his eyes grew heavy.

Outside the house:

Sally stood on the porch and shook her head, telling the other three that she was unsuccessful. "He doesn't even realize he has a problem." Knuckles and Tails shook their head in agreement. Shadow didn't say a word. He took a step toward the door when Sally threw an arm in front of him to stop him. "No." She said, knowing what he was planning to do. "I know you want to drag him out here and force him to get some kind of help. But _he_ has to be the one to do it. If we force him, it'll just be harder down the road. You know that." She said pointing to Shadow. He realized she was right, even though he didn't want to admit it. "You guys want to talk to him? I can wait." Sally said, holding up her hand and making a V with her index and middle finger at Knuckles and Tails. They both shook their head's in unison. "I came here to see Sonic. Not some junkie." Tails said, tossing his head toward the house. "Yeah. The kid's right. That's not Sonic." Knuckles said, letting out a long sigh. Shadow stepped out into the yard and stretched, getting ready to take off. "If you guys don't mind, I'm just going to take off." He said. No one did as he stepped out of the gate and shot down the road, leaving the three standing in the yard.

"I guess there's no point in standing around here. Shall we go back?" Sally asked Tails and Knuckles. They both nodded in agreement, and the three headed for the car. "Thanks for the ride." Knuckles said getting in the back. "I'm kinda tired after running all the way out here. Well, that and I'm not in the mood." He said, buckling his seatbelt. "Me too." Tails said getting in on the passenger side. They shut the doors and Sally started the engine. Night had fallen since they had arrived and it would be a while before they got to Sally's. Sally flicked the switch for the headlights, cut the wheel and pulled away from the house, not even bothering to look back.

Sonic

Sonic bolted upright on the couch, shaking uncontrollably. The pain had dulled slightly but it was still there. He was sweating to. And numb, mostly in his legs. _Am I having a heart attack. _Sonic wondered. "No. That can't be it. No pain in my chest." He said to himself. He thought it might be a stroke, but he dismissed that too. "Can't be that. No pain in my head." Then he remembered that he hadn't shot up for a while. He looked at the clock and it said it was after ten p.m.. "He should have been back by now." Sonic moaned. He pulled himself off the couch and headed for the bathroom. Blue pulled off his shoes and socks and climbed into the shower. He turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. The second it did, he stepped under the falling water, letting it wash over him. It felt good. He hadn't felt this good in a while. There was just something about a shower that made all his problems go away. At least for the time being.

The shaking had stopped and the numbness had almost subsided. Now the only thing he felt was sick. Like he was going to throw up. But he had been through that before and he never did. It only reached the point where he was about to heave, but never did. He turned off the water and toweled off. He tossed the towel into the hamper and sat on the toilet to put his shoes back on. As he was, his mind turned to what Sally had said earlier. 'You need help.' Those words kept turning over in his mind. Blue _knew _he didn't need help. He only came here so he wouldn't have to put Sally through anymore crap. He knew she would stay up countless nights watching him sleep, that way when he had one of those night terrors, she could be there for him as soon as he awoke. But the terrors were gone as were the pills. "She must be thinking about the heroin." He said as he finished tying his shoes. "Yeah. I take it. But I don't have a problem with it. _She's_ the one with the problem."

Blue knew he could stop at any time. It was just a matter of the withdrawals. Of course, he knew that could be solved by slowly decreasing the dose day by day until he wasn't taking any. "That's all there is to it." (By the way, that was one guy's actual solution for getting off heroin. Just thought I'd mention that.) Sonic knew there was no going back now. "If she can't accept that, then there's no point in seeing her again." Blue said, stepping out of the bathroom.

"What're you going on about?" A voice called out from the front room. The voice snapped him back to reality and once it did, he felt the pain return. He had been so lost in thought he had forgotten about the pain. "Ngh." Sonic moaned as it returned. He made his way back to the front room to see Scourge standing there, holding the small cases he had taken earlier plus a plastic bag of weed and a few bags of groceries that he had set on the couch. "Hey, sorry I took so long." He said. "You ok?" He asked Sonic. Blue shook his head and made his way over to where Scourge was. "I had a bad day. You get my stuff?" Sonic asked. Scourge put his arm underneath Sonic. "Tell me what happened first." Scourge said, guiding him toward the couch. "But what about..." Sonic moaned, pointing at the case in Scourge's hand. "You first." Scourge said. Sonic moved the bag of pot out of the way and plopped down, not even trying to steady himself with one hand. Sonic went over what had happened again with Sally and them showing up. Scourge just listened to it all, not saying a word.

"And that's what happened" Sonic said as he wrapped up the story. "But now that you're here I can finally have my, you know." He said, his eyes locked on the case in Scourge's hand. Scourge cleared his throat. "That's not going to happen." Scourge said flatly. The joy Sonic had felt, the feeling of finally getting the chance to shoot up again, disappeared. He stared at Scourge. He never thought he'd hear that come out of him. "What do ya mean 'no'?" Sonic asked. Scourge cleared his throat again. "I told you when you got here, I don't like it when people steal my stuff. You remember that?" Scourge asked. Sonic thought back to when he first came to Scourge. "Yeah. But I didn't take it. You said I could have what I wanted as long as I left you some." Sonic said.

"No I didn't. I said I only sold this shit to the junkies on the street when I needed money. Like today." He said, heaving a thumb toward the food on the couch behind him. "You just went into my room and took what you wanted. You almost used my whole stash. I can't have that around here." Scourge said. Sonic didn't follow. "What're you talking about? I remember you saying-" Scourge cut him off, holding a hand in front of his face. "I never said that. I said you can't just have as much as you want. This shit'll kill you. But I guess it doesn't matter now. You already look dead." Scourge shook his head. Sonic felt the anger rise in him quickly as he jumped to a standing position. He doubled up his fists as he glared at Scourge. "What're you saying?" Sonic asked through clenched teeth. Scourge knew what was coming. "I'm saying you can get the fuck out."

Sonic raised his fist and swung it at Scourge, but he saw it coming and ducked to the side. Just as Sonic's fist flew past his head, Scourge grabbed Sonic's wrist and stepped to the side, pulling Sonic's arm to his back and pushing up. "Ngh!" Sonic exclaimed. _What the hell? _Sonic wondered. He knew he could fight, but Scourge had just dodged it without even blinking. Of course, being the best fighter in the world doesn't mean a thing when your high. Scourge wrapped his free arm around Sonic's neck and squeezed. "You know, you used to be something. Someone I actually had respect for. But when you're strung out on heroin, you just become a pile of shit." Scourge said, releasing his grip on Sonic and pushing him down onto the couch. Sonic landed on his stomach, his knees hitting the floor. Blue rubbed his neck, angry and confused. "If I let you stay here, you'll just keep doing this shit again and again, and that fucks me over. I can't have that." Scourge walked over by the door and grabbed the suitcase Sonic had brought with him. It had been there since Sonic had arrived and he never once bothered to look into it. It was the kind that had wheels on the bottom to make carrying it easier. Scourge thrust the handle into Sonic's hand. Scourge reached over and grabbed one of the bag's of groceries. It had a few things in it, but not too much, just enough eat to ease the hunger. But the way Sonic was feeling, he knew it would go a long way. He opened the suitcase and stuck the bag in. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Scourge mumbled as he reached back into his quills and pulled out his wallet. Sonic stood up, tears welling in his eyes. Not from the withdrawal pain, but from what Scourge had done.

Scourge dug into his wallet and pulled out a $50. He shoved it into Sonic's hand. "What's this for?" He asked, looking at the bill in his hand. "In case you need it." Scourge said and walked over to the door. He put his hand on the knob and opened it. Outside it was black, the only light coming from what few streetlights were working and from a few houses. Sonic put the money in his quills. "Can't we talk about this?" Sonic asked, the tears rolling down his cheeks. He realized now what he had done and he would do anything to fix it. Scourge shook his head. "No. You broke my trust. You stole from me. Twice that I know about. I told you I don't like people that steal from me." Scourge looked him in the eyes. "I'm saying this as a friend. You have a problem and you need help. Maybe you'll come to your senses out there, cause in here, I know you won't find it." Scourge said. Sonic knew there was no amount of convincing would change Scourge's mind. He had screwed himself bad.

Sonic stepped out of the house that he had called home for the past three months. He wiped the tears from his face and turned around to face his former friend. " I guess this is it. Huh?" Sonic asked. "Yeah. It is." Scourge said and closed the door. It shut, the light from inside the house no longer illuminating the porch. Sonic was now enveloped in total darkness. Alone.

Sonic felt lower than he had before. Even lower than he had with Amy. He bowed his head and turned away from the door. "So what now?" He asked himself, but there was no reply. Just before he was about to step off the porch, he heard the sound of something opening behind him. It was Scourge's face looking out the small security window that was in the door. It was a square taken out of the door where the peephole would normally go. On the outside of the door were bars going up and down and on the inside, the opening was covered with a metal plate. When you wanted to see who was on the other side, you simply opened the plate and looked out.

He saw Scourge's face and his spirits improved, a smile on his face. "Wait." He said, pushing something out through the space's between the bars. Sonic didn't even need light to tell what it was. It was a syringe. "Sonic took it greedily from him and held it lovingly in his hands. " I imagine it's going to be tough out there. That should ease it somewhat. I don't know why I'm even giving this to you." Sonic didn't say a word, his eyes fixated on the syringe in his hands. "But you should know it's not full. So take it easy. See you around man." Scourge said, closing the metal plate, leaving Sonic alone in the darkness again. But Sonic didn't care. He had what he wanted and that was all that mattered.

Sally

As the three made there way back to her house, there wasn't much talk. It was spent mostly in silence. Knuckles was asleep in the back and Tails decided to ask about her. He imagined what she was going through was horrible. "You ok, Sally?" He asked. Sally smiled. "Yeah. I mean, I'd give anything to have Sonic in this car with us, but I guess he isn't ready." She said. "Yeah." Tails said. "At least I know he's fine." She said. A few minutes passed before Tails spoke again. "You know, I thought for sure you'd have a nervous breakdown after all of that." Tails covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from saying those words, but it was too late. Sally glanced at him. He didn't know why he said what he did, but it was too late now. "I-I'm sorry." He blurted out. Sally reached out and lightly squeezed his shoulder. "It's ok." She said, giving off a small laugh. "Really? I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Tails said nervously. He may have been super smart, but even he could do something stupid now and again.

"Yeah. I thought it would happen too, and you know what ?" She asked. "What?" Tails asked. "You can't cry when you don't have any tears." She said. Knuckles just stared out the window.

Sonic

_Now what do I do?_ Sonic asked himself. The only person he knew in town had just kicked him out, he had only one syringe, which wasn't full, and he had nowhere to go. "Perfect." He said flatly. He picked up his suitcase and headed out the gate. It was a cool night. The middle of may. Not hot, yet not cold. The perfect time of year if one were forced out onto the street. Sonic walked out the gate and took one last look at the house he called home for the past 3 months. The windows were covered up, obviously to keep people with sticky fingers from looking in for something to steal. The only way to tell that anyone was living there was to stare carefully at the window closest to the door. If one looked closely enough, they could see light barely poking through a crack in the blanket at the top.

Sonic looked back at the house, but didn't feel anything at all, besides the need to shoot up. When his mind was focused on something, such as Sally giving him an ultimatum, of Scourge kicking him out for good, he didn't notice the pain, shaking and chills very much. Now that he was outside, wandering around, they had returned. And returned hard. It was almost as if he were drunk and had a bad cold. Anyone looking outside at that moment would see a tired, shaking hedgehog wandering around aimlessly. Since he had his belongings, some food and his needle, the only thing to worry about was finding somewhere to sleep. He headed down the street, not heading in any direction in particular. Looking for something, anything that would offer shelter for the night.

As he wandered up and down the streets, he noticed there wasn't anybody outside. Not one person. Sonic laughed through the fog his brain was in. Scourge had told him the streets were filled with roaming gangs and hookers. "I can't believe I fell for that." Sonic moaned as he turned the corner. Sonic knew now what Scourge had told him was a lie. Something he said just to try to scare Sonic. Blue had been wandering around for about an hour now, having no luck finding a spot. He had to find somewhere soon. An abandoned building, cardboard box, anything. Blue began to think he wouldn't find anything, but finally, luck smiled upon him. He came upon an alley behind a small apartment complex. Nothing big, only five apartments connected together.

He went down the alley in the back and finally found something he could use for the night. He didn't want to, but it was getting too late to continue. Sonic didn't know what time it was, but he guessed it was around 12:30, judging by the moon. He didn't like it, but at least the bin, which was one that needed a trash truck with front forks to empty it, was surrounded by a brick wall on the sides and the back. On the front of the enclosure was a chain link gate with strips of plastic running through the gate to keep people from seeing inside. "Perfect." Sonic said as he opened the gate and made his way around the back of the bin.

Blue looked inside the bin and noticed it was empty. He made his way around the back and maneuvered one corner of the bin toward the front, causing it to sit at an angle. Then, he pulled the opposite corner toward the wall as close as he could so it was sitting slightly diagonally. That way, anyone that walked up wouldn't notice him. Sonic sat down and let out a long sigh. "Oh, man." He said quietly, rubbing his eyes. The shaking had let up slightly, but the chills and pain were still there, and getting worse. He grabbed his suitcase and opened it. He grabbed the syringe and looked at it. "Dammit." He muttered. Scourge had given him just enough for one shot. He thought about his options. On one hand, he could take it all and have to suffer without more for a long time, or, take half and save the other for later. The only downside of that was he needed the entire thing to calm the pain and hope he could sleep. He decided to take option a.

Since he didn't have anything to tie off his arm, he would have to do it like he did on the couch the first time. He put his upper arm between the wall and the side of his body. The pressure made the veins in his forearm plump up enough to get the needle in. He took the cap off with his teeth and grinned with anticipation. This was his favorite part, aside from the high itself. Holding the needle in his right hand, he put two fingers to his lips and licked them, then rubbed them over a spot he found suitable. It might not have been the most hygienic way to go about things, but he didn't have a lot of options at this point. Once the area had been 'cleaned', he found a vein and pressed the needle against his skin. Taking a breath, he plunged the needle in. He welcomed the sting as the needle broke the skin. He drew back on the syringe slightly, making sure to draw a little blood in. If there was blood in the syringe, it meant he had hit the vein and he was good to go.

He pulled back on the plunger and sure enough, a small amount of blood entered the syringe. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for. He smiled as he pushed down on the plunger, the drug working it's way into his system. He pulled the needle out and bent the needle backward and replaced the cap, making sure no one else could use it or get stuck with it. He may have been a junkie, but he knew better that to leave a used needle lying around. As the drug coursed it's way through his system, he decided to look through his suitcase. Something to pass the time until the drug kicked in. He opened the top and looked inside. Since there was a full moon, there was no need for light. He could see the contents clearly. On top of the pile was the bag Scourge had given him. A few random food items, just enough to make it a day or two, and his clothes, which he hadn't even bothered to unpack. "Hmph." He grumbled as the drug began to take effect. The pain and chills were gone now, replaced by a warm, fuzzy sensation. The shaking had stopped too. _Glad that's over._ He thought to himself. He grabbed the suitcase and went to close it, but just as he pulled the top over, something inside caught his attention. It was almost buried underneath the few clothes he had packed, barely sticking out enough to catch the glimmer of the moon. He pulled it out and couldn't believe he had forgotten about it. It was a picture of Sally. He stared at it for a while, wondering why she had shown up in the first place. _If she cared about me, she would have left me alone. I told her I need to work this out on my own. _He thought. One thing still bothered him. 'You need help.' That's what she said.

_Help? With what?_ _The only thing I need is to get through the shit I went through up there so I can get on with my life. I can do that by myself. I don't need a shrink. He thought. Sonic had managed to come to terms with most of what had happened. And of course, there was his writing. It had come to a stop since he had been up there. The last book he wrote was somewhere up in the mountains where he had the accident, no doubt destroyed or whatever hand fate had dealt it. Blue looked up to find the moon. It's position told him it was at least one o'clock. He laid on the ground, stretching out as far as he could. He wouldn't be able to get much sleep in where he was. He knew he would have to leave early in case someone came by to dump there garbage, and he didn't want to be spotted. Blue grabbed his suitcase and took the jacket out and covered himself up with it, then put the case under his head, using it as a makeshift pillow. It wasn't comfortable, but at least if he managed to get some sleep, he knew he would only sleep a few hours at the most, waking up from the pain of sleeping on a suitcase. _

_He shifted to get maximum comfort and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep._

_Sally_

_It was just after one when the car pulled into the driveway of Sally's house. It was a welcome sight for the weary three. Sally shut off the car and got out, the other two following suit. Locking the doors and turning on the alarm, she turned to Knuckles. "You wanna stay here tonight? I know it's a long way back to the island from here." She said. Knuckles shook his head. "Naw. I feel better now. I think I'll be alright." He said. "You two take care." He said as he headed down the road towards the island. "You too." Sally said. She turned to Tails next. "Shall we go inside?" She asked. Tails nodded in agreement and the pair headed inside. Once they were inside Tails put a hand on Sally. "How you doing?" He asked. She sighed, "I'm fine. I guess just seeing him, knowing he's ok made me ok too." She said. "I could ask you the same thing. She said. Tails smiled, but the smile quickly vanished. "Yeah. I guess... now that I know he's somewhere safe, it's taken a lot off my mind. You know? Now if he could just get off the drugs, then things would be perfect." He said as he walked over to the couch and sat down. The only thing that was missing was Sonic._

_A/N: One more down, but how many more to go? I don't know. I hope I can keep going with this as long as I can but it's getting harder and harder to come up with parts of the story and keeping everything together with what happened before. Hope you're enjoying this so far. Thanks for reading. R & R please. _


	12. Lost and Found

Lost and Found

Chapter 12

Authors note: Damn, chapter 12 already. Anyway, I know I've said it before, but I hope this one is one of the better ones I've done. This time I actually went back and edited the entire story, removing certain parts and changing certain words and sentences. I think this is the first time in a while I've actually put in a lot of work into a chapter, so I hope the extra effort is worth it on your part. I'd also like to ask, aside from hoping you review this, would you have given the chapter a different name? Let me know what you would have called it. Sorry for rambling on and on, but before I forget, thanks to everyone who reviewed and special thanks to AyumiHedgeWolf, I think that's the correct username I got from the last review if I remember correct, was the last person to review as of this writing and who stayed up til 4:00 in the morning reading all of these. Thanks. Contains strong language scattered throughout. Rated T.

Sally & Tails

Both sat next to each other, neither saying a word. Neither could find a thing to talk about. Of course, there was the elephant in the room, but neither of them wanted to bring that up unless the other one did. So they just sat there, staring at the TV. It was 'Pulp Fiction', one of Sally's favorite movies. Sally attention was focused on the TV. Tails glanced over at her quickly, just giving her a once over. He didn't notice any obvious sign's of worry on her face. In fact, if he didn't know anything about what had happened with Sonic, he would have figured everything was OK. He on the other hand, was a different story. Seeing Sonic for the first time in almost three months had done a number on him. He didn't even resemble the Sonic he knew. The one he knew wasn't lying around all hours of the day, smoking pot and shooting up heroin. Just Sonic's general appearance made him feel sorry for him.

Last time Tails had seen him, he looked trim and fit. Now, just a shell of his former self. Tails noticed his weight had went down at least 15 pounds since he last saw Sonic, and his muscular frame had withered away to almost nothing. He looked like he hadn't gotten any exercise since he had left. His arms looked like two skinny poles with gloves at the end. It was something that he hadn't stopped thinking about since they had gotten back. He kept picturing Sonic lying there, motionless on the couch. _He just looks so frail._ Those were the words that kept going through his head. There were many words used to describe Sonic, but frail? Never. At least, not until now.

Sally had been trying to get him to say something every now and then, but hadn't had much luck. Just a 'uh-huh', or a 'yeah' every now and then, and when he spoke it wasn't very loud. She turned her head to ask him what was wrong and she noticed a tear falling down his cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, shifting her position and turning herself toward him. "Huh?" He asked, turning his head to her. He still hadn't noticed the tear on his cheek. He wiped it away and smiled. "What did you say?" He asked. "I asked you what's wrong." She repeated. She noticed he had a weird look on his face. Almost like he wanted to throw up, but he couldn't. "Nothing." He said, wiping away the tear. She scooted closer to him and put her arm around him. Tails tried to pull away, but didn't offer much resistance. "C'mon Tails." She said softly. "Something's bothering you. I think we both know what that is." She said. Tails looked at her. Another tear had formed and fallen down the same path as the first one. Sally wiped it away. This simple act made Tails feel better. He gave her a half smile and looked up at her. "Yeah," He began, "It's Sonic. I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since I saw him today. It just wasn't him, you know?" He asked. Sally nodded her head and uttered a simple "Yeah.".

Sally thought back to when they were coming back. He hadn't shown any sign's of sadness or depression until now. "What about when we were in the car coming back. You were talking to me and Knuckles the whole ride over here. Were you thinking about him then?" She asked. Tails nodded his head. "Yeah." He said. I was just trying to keep myself from thinking about him, you know." He said, the tears getting harder and harder to hold back. Now it was at the point where the whole runny nose/water works started to take effect. Sally knew there wasn't any stopping it now. She could tell he was on the precipice, just about to lose control. She grabbed his chin with her hand and turned his head up to hers. "If you need to cry, you go ahead. I won't tell anyone." As soon as she finished that sentence, Tails let loose with a violent flow of tears and sobs. It reminded her when _she_ was the one sobbing like he was now. Sally gently held him in her arms, a feeling that he greatly appreciated.

Sonic: The next morning

Blue awoke to the sounds of silence. Looking around, he was startled at first, not remembering right away what had happened the night before. He looked around and saw he was surrounded by a brick wall on three sides and, for some reason, a giant trash bin. "What the..." He murmured. Heroin was a strange drug. The drug's effects were the same for everyone, but the side effects varied from person to person, usually showing sometime between halfway through the high to after a night's rest. Depending on the amount taken, they ranged from blurred vision to cardiac arrest and anything in between.

His memory of what had happened the night before had returned quickly. He hung his head, feeling a wave of shame wash over him. Never in his life did he think he could make a bigger ass of himself than he had. He never thought he would steal from his best friend then turn around and flat out lie to him. Or try to attack him. "Oh, Jesus." Sonic moaned, realizing what he had done, pulling his knees to his chest and putting his head between his knees. He knew he had messed up bad. He could go apologize, but he knew it wouldn't do any good at the moment. If he did, he knew Scourge would think he was just saying it to try to worm his way back into the house, and that would blow his chances of salvaging what little of their friendship remained. Sonic figured that now would be the wrong time to do it anyway.

Sonic knew he had to get moving. He couldn't afford to spend another night outdoors. He knew he had to find some kind of shelter, but least he didn't have to worry about getting more dope for the time being. He figured the little that he had used last night would last in his system for the entire day. At least he hoped it would. He looked up, trying to figure out what time it was. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the moon was still out. He couldn't see it because of the brick walls, but if he looked through the small opening between the wall and the bin, he could see the light from the moon. He figured it was sometime between five thirty and six in the morning. "Time for breakfast." He said to himself, reaching over and grabbing his suitcase. "Let's see what he gave me." Sonic said quietly, opening the top and peering inside. There was just enough light to make out what was inside.

From what he could tell, it was two packages of cookies and a box of toaster pastries, along with the $50. Sonic figured Scourge had grabbed them at random when he was giving him what he had. It could have been worse. He could have given him nothing. He opened the box of pastries. They were the store brand kind. The kind that just said 'Toaster Pastries' with the flavor and a picture of one on the box. "He could have at least sprung for Pop Tarts©." He said,opening the box and taking out a package. He opened it and took one out, leaving the other one for later. It was strawberry flavored, although he knew there wasn't anything remotely resembling a strawberry in it.

He ate it quick and got up, grabbing his suitcase and manuvering his way around the bin. He set his bag outside the gate and pushed the bin back to it's original position, walked out the gate, looking around at first making sure no one saw him. No one did and he and shut it behind him. "Time to go." He said. Sonic grabbed his bag picked a direction and headed off.

Tails

Tails awoke just as the sun was rising, the sign's of night fading away and the light taking control again. After he had used the bathroom, he walked back to the front room and sat down in one of the two recliners that were in the room. He opted to leave the TV off for right now. _There wouldn't be much on anyway._ He thought. Instead, he began to let his mind wander as he did from time to time. He did this when there was absoultely nothing to do and he enjoyed it. He relished the times he could turn his brain off, no matter how small the window was. He swivled the recliner toward the window behind him and pulled the curtain back enough so he could see outside. It was still dark out, but the moon was full, lighting up everything it touched.

Tails leaned back in the chair and gazed out the window. His thoughts turned to Sonic yet again, but this time he wasn't focused on Sonic's current situation. He thought about everything that had happened up to the point that Sonic had run off. Sally had told him everything that had happened while he was in Amy's 'care'. How she seemed normal at first, then turned into a complete psycotic bitch. What she told him made him want to go find Amy, bring her back to life and kill her himself. He remembered that Sally had sat him down one day while Sonic was in the hospital.

He listened to the horror stories she told him, but there were three that stood out in particular. The first had become known as 'The Soup Incident'. She told him how Amy was normal at first. How Amy cared for him and gave him what Sonic needed when he needed it. Although, Sally said, Sonic didn't do that very much. He wasn't that kind of person. But, one day, they were discussing something or other, he couldn't remember what it was exactly, but Amy was holding a bowl of soup she had made for him. Something Sonic had said set her off without warning, he said she just whipped it against the wall, yelling and screaming at him for no reason at all. Then she just stopped and walked out. He didn't have any idea what he had said to set her off. The next time he had seen her, it was two days later and she acted like nothing had happened. At first, Sally told him, Sonic didn't think too much of it. He found it odd, but he brushed it off.

Then, from what Tails could remember, there was the time awhile after the soup incident, where the 'Batshit Crazy' Amy had began to fully surface, and after Sonic's painkiller addiction had begun to gather steam, she had left him alone with no food or water for five days. He hadn't eaten or drank very much before she left since she had him on a hospital diet. That meant all his meals had no salt or flavor. That also meant there wasn't very much either. Just enough to sustain him and nothing else. This meant he was always hungry. Going from eating as many chili dogs as he could in one sitting then forced to eat a rubbery, tastless steak that was no bigger that a deck of cards was something he never got used to. He asked Amy before she had snapped for some better food, but she refused. She said that the food he was getting was exactly the amount his body needed and anymore would be overindulging, and being a nurse, she knew what she was talking about.

Since he wasn't eating what he was used to, hunger set in fast. In the three months he was with Amy, he had lost almost forty pounds, so at that point he was starving. Having no food was one thing, but water was another. Water was the one thing she gave him freely. But before she had left, she had only given him one pitcher. He drank that the first day. The second and third day he told Sally, he began to worry that she wasn't coming back. And on the fifth day, the thirst grew to be too much for him to bear. She told Tails that he was forced to drink his own urine. He asked why he did it, she said that Sonic said he only did it so he could have _something_ to drink. And the next morning, which would have been the sixth day, she walked into his room and acted like nothing had happened. She gave him his food and pills, smiling and carrying on like nothing had happened.

That, he said wasn't the worst. The worst was what happened after that. His legs had begun to heal and Amy had given him a wheelchair to move around in. She only gave it to him so he could sit at the table and rewrite his last book just for her. He didn't want to do it, but he knew he had no choice. At this point, after getting the wheelchair, he had managed to escape from his room for a short while when Amy went out to town or when she did her dissapearing act. He said the first thing he did was try to call for help, but when he picked up the phone, (Anyone remember when phone's had to be plugged into the wall?) the insides had been torn out, leaving just a shell.

She said that he thought of just opening the door and making a break for it did cross his mind more than once, but how far could a hedgehog get in a wheelchair with two busted up legs and in a place he was unfamiliar with. So he settled on the freedom of moving around her house. Until she found out. He had dropped his 'key' after one of his outings. She had found it and she made him pay. That, he said, was when she broke his ankles with the sledgehamer.

Tails sat there, dumbfounded that anyone could have suvived what Sonic had went through. Tails asked her, after she had finished, why they didn't speak to a psychiatrist about all of this. Sally said she had gotten Sonic to see one only once, but didn't follow through with it. He refused to go back, saying he would just deal with it his own way. She tried to get him to go back, but he just wouldn't go. 'You know how he is.' Sally said. So she gave up trying to force him to go. Then three days later, he left without saying a word.

Tails sat in the chair, staring out the window his thoughts focused on Sonic as well as a few other things. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the bad and depressing thoughts that he had of Sonic. He spun the chair around and reached out for the small bag he had brought with him. It wasn't much. Just a few odds and ends he thought he might need. He reached in and pulled out a pair of earphones. He set the bag down on the couch and reached for his phone. He took it off the charger and plugged the earphones into the earphone jack on the side of the phone. He scrolled down through the menu untill he came across the 'Music' section. It was the same music he had stored on the computer at the lab he listened to while he worked. Tails figured he might be with Sally for awhile so he decided it would be a good idea to bring along his music collection with him.

He pressed the screen and it opened the music list. He put the earphones in his ears and scrolled down until he reached the playlist section. He opened that particular menu and selected the one labled, 'Tranquil Thoughts'. It was a playlist filled with different music, ranging from metal to country (classic, not the new stuff that was out now) to classical and even some music from around the world. Japanese flute and Taiko drum songs, Scottish and Irish folk songs, native american flute music and so on. Sonic and the others always teased him about his tastes in music, although they were never serious about it. He just shrugged it off, saying, "To really understand music, truly enjoy music, you have to be open to all forms of it." He hit the play button on the screen, leaned back in the chair and let the music flow through his head. The next thing he knew he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Sally standing next to the chair.

Sonic

Dawn was begining to break as Sonic left the place he had slept. It wasn't the greatest, but he knew it would get worse if he didn't find something more suitable for tonight. He was hoping to find something, anything that he could sleep in for the night. The only place he could think of was downtown. _Hell, there ought to be something better than a dumpster to sleep next to. _He thought. He knew the town was in trouble. Most of the buisnesses had closed down after Robotnik's occupation and most hadn't come back due to the resulting fear that had spawned from it. "At least it can't get any worse than it already has." He said to himself.

Two hours later:

When he finally arrived, the place was deserted, minus a few people here and there. "What the hell..." Sonic wondered to himself. He was still pissed at Scourge for telling him that Metropolis was the worst place to live. _Where are the hookers? Where are the dealers? The gangs? Fuck, there's more people out than anything. _Sonic thought. He knew now that Scourge had told him the city was way worse than it was on purpose. He didn't know why, but he knew he would have to ask him if he ever saw him again. Most of the buildings were closed. Mostly mom and pop shops that didn't have a chance when Robotnik showed up. There wasn't much left. Just an burger stand, a gas station and a few buisnesses here and there. It resembled a ghost town more than a bustling city.

Sonic felt his stomach rumbling, demanding food. "You getting hungry?" He asked his stomack, rubbing it with his hand, trying to quiet it's pain. It growled again, asserting itself. "Ok, you win." He said. He headed over to the burger joint. He looked at the sign as he walked up to the door. 'Big Kahuna Burger' it said in large, purple cursive writing (guess what movie the name comes from and win an extra 50 points!). He opened the door and walked in. The kid behind the counter greeted him with a smile and gave the standard "Can I take your order?" The kid asked. Sonic figured he couldn't be older than 17, 18 at the most. "Hi." Sonic replied. He scanned the menu quickly, deciding the first thing he set his eyes on was what he was going to order. "Can I get a Big Kahuna and fries, please?" He asked, reaching into his closet and pulling out the $50 Scourge had given him.

"Anything else?" The kid asked. Sonic shood his head, palming the fifty. "Ok,' the kid said, "That comes to $6.72." Sonic handed him the fifty, got his change and sat down to wait for his food. He sat down in the first chair he spotted and rested his head on his arms, thinking about his next move. There wasn't just the problem of finding shelter, food would soon become an issue soon. The money Scourge had given him wouldn't last forever, so there was something to look foreward to. The most pressing issue would be getting more heroin. He knew the effects wouldn't last much longer. The last bit he had went into his system over eight hours ago. The time it took to go through his system varied, but on a good day, which, for now was the only thing in his favor, a shot would last at the most ten hours. He figured he had anywhere between two and a half and four hours of clear thinking left in him before the urge to shoot up hit again.

The other big problem that still loomed was finding shelter. He could look around downtown, but he knew if he didn't find anything, he'd have to sleep outside again. Scourge was out and going back to Sally was definitly out of the question. The only option's left was to find somewhere in town, his brother or his sister, and he had no idea where either of them were. He took a deep breath. "One problem at a time." He said to himself.

"Hey, your food's ready." The kid said. Sonic heard him and walked up to the counter and took the tray. "Thanks." He said and walked back to the table. He sat it down in front of him and the smell of the burger and fries wafted up to his nose. It had been a long time since he had anything other than sandwiches and beer to eat. He grabbed the burger and started to take a bite, but stopped just before his teeth sank into it. Sonic sat it back down on the tray and walked up to the counter. "Can I get a soda?" He asked. "Sure. What kind?" The kid asked. "Surprise me." Sonic said. The kid grabbed a cup from behind the counter and held it under the fountain. When it was filled, the kid handed the cup to Sonic. "That'll be $2.55." He said. Sonic laid three one's on the counter and turned around. "Keep the change." He said, making his way back to the table.

Blue sat down and grabbed his burger. The scent of the burger hit his nose and his mouth watered. He took a bite and stopped. The taste of the burger made him smile. It had been far too long since he had eaten something so good. He took two more big bites and slowly chewed them, savoring every bite. _"Damn that's good!"_ He thought. He finished the burger and moved on to the fries. Blue poured the ketchup on and dug in. As he was eating, he didn't notice someone was standing next to him. "Mind if I sit down?" The man asked, the slightest hint of a southern accent flowing from his lips. Sonic looked up. "Uh, sure." He said, not quite what to make of the situation. The guy sat down in the chair opposite to him. He sat the cup down he was holding and took a sip from it. Sonic found it odd that someone would come into a burger joint, order a soda, then sit at a table next to a complete stranger. But he didn't care about that. His attention was still focused on the burger and fries. He ate the last of the fries and sat back in the chair, completely satisfied, a small burp emitting from his throat.

"Ahhh." Sonic exclaimed. He stared up at the ceiling for a second, letting the food settle in his stomach, then turned his attention to the stranger sitting across from him. "You mind if I ask you a question?" Sonic asked the guy. "You just did." The guy replied. Sonic let out a small laugh. "That's a good one. Well, let me ask you this. Why, out of all the empty seats, of all the empty tables you could have chosen, why did you choose to sit by me?" He asked. The guy took another sip of his soda. "For one thing, I don't like to eat alone. Just makes me feel wierd. Second, why would I pass up the chance to eat with someone who's as famous as you?" The guy asked. Sonic gave off another small laugh. He never thought of himself as a celebrity. That was forced on him. Sure, the war had made him famous as well as the books he had written, something that had gone almost forgotten. But he never considered himself a celebrity. It had been almost eight years since the war had ended and almost a year had passed since he had released his last book.

"Look. I don't consider myself a 'famous' person. I was just doing what I thought was right." Sonic said. "Oh, but I think you are. You're Sonic the Hedgehog. You saved innocent lives from a madman." The guy said holding up a hand with his index finger pointing up. "Two, you've written how many books?" The guy asked. "Four." Sonic said after thinking back for a minute. "Three, you can run how fast?" The guy asked. Sonic held up his own hand, making the guy sit back in his own chair. "Okay, okay. I get your point. So what's with the twenty questions?" Sonic asked. The guy leaned foreward and put his arms on the table and folded them. "Well, I just came in for a soda and happened to see you of all people sitting here enjoying a burger. I thought, 'Hell, big celebrity eating in a dump of a city like this?' I knew something had to be wrong. Last I heard, after the war ended, you moved in with someone and was getting ready to release the last Misery book." He said.

Sonic lowered his head. _Yeah, well, shit got fucked up. Life wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't gone up to the cabin to write the last book, get in a wreck, have my ankles broken in a crazy bitch's house, escape from said house, then become addicted to painkillers therby ruining my life. Yeah. I'd say something got messed up. _Of course, Sonic didn't say that. Oh, he felt like it though. But common sense didn't let him. "Let's just say there were a few problems." He said bluntly. The guy held up his hands, shaking them back and forth. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I didn't mean for that to sound like that. I meant, how'd you end up here." Sonic felt the anger start to rise in him. "Look," he said flatly. "If you don't mind, I've got better things to do than sit here and answer your damn questions." He said, standing up quickly and grabbing his 'closet' and trash on the table. He made his way over to the trash can quickly and tossed it in.

Sonic threw open the front doors and stormed out, not even bothering to pick a direction. He heard the guy jump up from his seat and follow behind him. He also heard the guy make his way outside, following behind Sonic. "Wait. Please. I just want to talk." The guy said. Sonic didn't even bother to stop or make eye contact. "If it's more questions about shit that's not any of your damn business, I ain't interested." Sonic said, the anger clear in his tone of voice. Sonic didn't hear the guy following behind him anymore after he said that, and for the second time today, he smiled.

"Actually," The guy said, his voice elevated so Sonic could hear him, "I just wanted to wish you good luck riding out detox tonight." Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. Those words made him stop so abruptly, he almost tripped over his own shoes. He stood there unsure of what he had heard. Then, once he was sure he had heard what he had heard, he turned around and made a beeline for the guy. Sonic got right in his face, his fists doubled up. "What did you say?" He asked, his teeth clenched. It didn't take much to set him off after the guy's twenty questions routine in the burger joint. "You heard me." The guy said.

_Just who the fuck is this guy? _Sonic wondered. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. The guy looked at him. "Come on. You're a famous hero/author and you're wandering around Metropolis, alone. Now, there's only two reasons people are even in this damn town. One, they were either born here and they can't get out. Or two, they're looking for drugs. And since I know you weren't born here, well that just eliminates a lot of options. Doesn't it?" He asked. Blue nodded his head. Sonic knew the guy was right on the nose and didn't even try to deny it. "So what is it? You're drug?" Sonic looked at the guy. "What's it to you?" He asked.

"Well, if it's the right kind, I can get you what you need. And from the looks of that duffel you're carrying around, you don't have any place to sleep tonight. Am I right?" The guy asked. Sonic nodded his head again. His curiosity was now just equal to his anger. "That, I can help you with. But, if you want help with your other problem, I need to know what it is." The guy said. Sonic thought about what was being offered to him. He hadn't been able to think of something himself and now the answer was being dropped in his lap. He decided to bite the bullet. _What the hell_? "You... you know where I can get some heroin?" Sonic asked. He could already feel the nervousness and anxiety building up inside slowly, meaning his last shot was wearing off, but he still had enough sense to not totally trust the guy. "Yeah, I do. Follow me." The guy said, grabbing Sonic by the shoulder. Sonic hesitated for a second, weighing his options. The stranger was a few steps ahead of him before he realized blue wasn't following him. He spun around and laid a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Come on." The guys said. Sonic followed, his uncertanty, for reasons unknown to Sonic, were laid to rest when the guy put his hand. "You know, I never did get your name." Sonic said. "That's cuz' you never asked. Name's Judge. Pleasure to meet you."

Tails

"Mmmmm, what time is it?" Tails asked, yawning. He didn't think he'd fall asleep again. But that was the effect music had on him. Once he became absorbed into it fully, he became completely relaxed, and usually found himself unexpectedly falling asleep. "Ha ha." Sally chuckled. "You have a good nap?" She asked, making a left and grabbing the remote. "Yeah." Tails said, yawning again. "I guess I haven't been getting enough sleep." He said rubbing his eyes and dragging himself to the bathroom. After finishing his business, he came back to find Sally watching TV. One of those mind numbing daytime talk shows that seem to sprout up every year. Tails grabbed his phone off the arm of the couch. It was almost dead. He switched it off and stuck it in his bag he had sitting next to the couch. "You feel like doing anything today?" Tails asked Sally. Since he had come over to spend time with her and to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, he had been finding something to do with her to occupy her mind. Keep her from thinking about Sonic.

But those times looked to be behind her. She was about as normal as he had seen in a while. Sally turned away from the TV. "Nah. I didn't have anything in mind right now. Why? You want to do something?" She asked. Tails shook his head. "Actually, I was going to pop in over at the lab for a bit. See if anything needed my attention, grab a few things. What're you gonna do?" He asked. Sally turned toward him further, now sitting with one leg folded under her and her arms crossed on the back of the couch. "Only thing I need to do is the laundry. That should eat up about ten minutes. But after that, I got nothing. You coming back?" She asked.

Tails gave a small laugh. "Yeah. If everything's ok over at the lab, I'll be back as soon as I'm done. See ya when I get back." He said turning the doorknob and opening the door. "Ok." Sally said, turning her attention back to the TV. Tails closed the door behind him and walked down the steps of the porch to the edge of the lawn. It was still light out and he figured that it would take him around two hours to get to and from the lab, with stops to rest every now and then. Normally, he'd be able to fly nonstop, but he hadn't been doing a lot of flying lately. The fox stood at the edge of the road, twisted his tails up, jumped as high as he could, and unleashed the energy bound within and his body lifted off the ground and into the air.

Sonic

"Judge, huh? Interesting name." Sonic said as the pair waked through downtown. "Yeah." Judge said. "Got that name when I was a kid." "What's your real name?" Sonic asked. Judge glanced at him. "That is my name." He said. "Ok." Sonic said. "So what's the deal around here? I heard this wasn't a place you wouldn't want to be." He said. He still didn't understand what the hell Scourge had been talking about when he said Metropolis was a bad place. From what he could see, it wasn't so bad. Sure, the buildings needed repairing and there wasn't a lot of people out on the streets, but there weren't packs of roving gangs or dealers and hookers on the corners. There weren't shootouts or robberies or any of the horror stories Scourge had told him. Judge didn't turn to talk to him, instead keeping his gaze straight ahead. "It's only like this during the day. It's another story at night. No one comes out at night. That's when the losers come out." He said.

"Well that explains that." He said. "So where we going?" Sonic asked. They had been walking for a while. Sonic found himself getting tired. The time before withdrawals hit was drawing closer and closer. Fatigue was setting in and the slightest hints of chills were beginning to surface.

"Don't worry. We're almost there." Judge said. The sun was starting to set, and he didn't want to be out on the street when that happened. He realized he was lucky to make it through last night. Then again, he was oblivious to the world around him at the time. After a few more minutes of walking, they came across a brick two story building with the windows boarded up. "Were here." Judge said. Sonic knew this was Judge's place, but he didn't imagine it would look so rundown. Judge opened the door and gestured for Sonic to go inside. "What is this place?" Sonic asked.

Judge turned toward him after he had locked the door. "It's where I live." Judge said. Sonic looked around to take in his new surroundings. The building was pretty barren and gutted. The carpets were gone, walked down to almost nothing. The majority of the floor was cement, which was splotched with small spots of dirt that had been ground into the carpet over the years. The walls were just cheap drywall, were covered with old, faded wallpaper. The inside was illuminated with a single spotlight like the one's mechanics used when they were underneath fixing cars. It wasn't bright, but it did it's job. Sonic saw that the electrical cord ran outside through a hole in the wall, obviously siphoning off the place next door.

Judge put his arm around him. "So what do ya think? Better than sleeping outside, right?" Judge asked. Sonic nodded. It was, but not by much in his opinion. _How did the old saying go? 'Beggars can't be choosers?' At least it's dry. Except for that one spot over there?_ Sonic thought looking at a small puddle on the floor in the corner. Let me show you the rest of the house. The pair walked into the kitchen. "This is the kitchen. Only thing that works is the sink. I know it looks like shit, but the water is clean." The kitchen was just as bad as the living room. Same faded wallpaper. Cabinets hanging off the walls only held up by there sheer willpower to not fall off. The stove had seen better days. Sonic didn't think it worked and if it did, doubted there was gas to run it. The refrigerator was rusted out, door cracked open slightly. The little food that was in there was unidentifiable. Sonic began having second thoughts about staying in a place that a complete stranger had shown him. Of course his only other option was sleeping outside again, and he knew it would most likely be next to another dumpster. And, Sonic reasoned, if Judge was going to try something, he would have done it as soon as he locked the door. So for the moment, Sonic decided to take it like a man and try to make the best of it.

"Now, let me show you where you'll be sleeping." Judge said, getting right to the point. They left the kitchen and crossed over toward the other side of the house, over to a door. Judge opened it to reveal a small bedroom. He reached inside and Sonic saw his arm move slightly up and the light on the ceiling clicked on. This room, Sonic saw, was in better shape than the rest of the house was, not too good, but livable compared to the rest of the house. There was carpet in this room that actually covered the floor. It was dirty, and small sections were worn down almost to the padding, but the carpet was much better in here than the rest of the house. Against the wall next to the door was a small dresser with a TV on it, and next to that, a door that was open just enough to reveal a closet. Sonic noticed to his right was another door. "What's in there?" He asked.

Judge opened it to reveal a bathroom. Well, half bath really. It was just a toilet, sink and a light with a small, frosted over window to allow light in but keep prying eyes out. Sonic was surprised to find the bathroom was cleaner than the rest of the house. The linoleum on the floor had seen better days. It was peeling in various places and in one spot it was worn down to the cement, but it looked brand new compared to the rest of the place. Sonic walked up to the toilet and flushed it, making sure it worked before asking what he would have to do in case it didn't. But when he pushed down on the handle, it flushed.

"So what's the deal? How come this room is nicer than the rest of the house?" Sonic asked. "Been fixing it up slowly. Found most of this stuff lying around. You'd be surprised what people throw out these days." Judge replied. "Yeah. You're probably wondering why I brought you here with me aren't you?" Judge asked as he walked over to the bed and sat down. "That's easy. I saw you and realized who you were. I figured someone like you must be down on his luck pretty damn bad to be stuck in a place like this as I said earlier, plus you're not like some of the other assholes I've tried to help out in the past." Judge said. Sonic sat down beside him. The withdrawal effects were starting to get stronger now, but they were still manageable, only up to a dull roar in his legs. Sonic thought about what he had said and realized he was right. It still beat the dumpster.

"Thanks man." Sonic said, holding out his hand. Judge grabbed it and shook it. "Not a problem." He said. "Now, you mind helping me drag the other cot in here?" He asked as he stood up and walked out the room. "Oh, sure." Sonic said. _Other cot?_ Sonic asked himself. He didn't see anything like that outside. Sonic stepped out the door and looked around. He saw Judge struggling with a large object in the darkened room. Sonic rushed over to help him and grabbed one end. "Found it a few days ago. Let's get it over by the door." Judge said. The two carried the extra bed inside the room and set it in front of the door. After turning the bed that was in the room 90°, they could now bring in the other bed and set it against the other wall, that way they could both sleep in the same room instead of one being forced to sleep out in the front room. "There we go." Judge said as he set the bed down against the wall opposite of the other bed.

"I would have set it upstairs, but the doors are locked. Damn things rusted shut. Front room's way too drafty. It's alright in summer, but it's getting cooler now." Judge said. "This should do you until I get back. Plug in for the TV's inside the closet and there should be a pillow in there you can use. And don't worry, there clean." Judge said as he turned toward the door and went out. Sonic jumped up off the bed and followed him. "Wait. Where you going?" Sonic asked. The withdrawl feeling was getting worse now that the excitement had died down. "Just to get some things. Just stay in here and wait 'til I come back. Shouldn't be more than a couple hours." Judge said as he opened the other door and went outside. Sonic heard the sound of a key turning inside the doorknob.

As soon as Judge locked the door, he quickly made his way down the block until he was sure he was far enough away from the house. He turned down a street and ducked down an alley. He stopped and moved against the fence that was next to the road that way in case any cars came down the alley he wouldn't be run over by them. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He pushed a button and the display lit up. Judge hit a few buttons and held the phone to his ear as it dialed out. After a few seconds, someone on the other end picked up. "Hey, it's me." Judge said.

"Yeah, I found him."

"At the 'house'. What? Yeah, I didn't think you could've picked a more rundown piece of crap. Well, at least it looks like there've been people living in it before me."

"Yeah, I saw those. Thanks for that. I didn't think to ask for either of them. Least this way I can keep food for both of us and there's something to watch.""What?" Judge asked, the reception on the phone cutting in and out. "Let me move around." Judge walked a few steps to his right. "Is that better?"

"Ok. Can you repeat that?""I'd say about 45 minutes away."

"Then that should work then. Hold on a second." Judge said as he took the phone away from his ear to look at the clock. "Oh damn. Look, I gotta go. Need to be back soon.""Yeah, I'll call you as soon as I can. See you later." Judge said as he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket and headed to the drop off point.

Sonic

Back at the house, if he could call it that, he waited for Judge to return. _God, I could really use a shower right now. _Sonic thought. He forgot to ask what to do about it when the need came up, but it was too late to ask about it now. Blue moved around, trying to keep his mind off of the coming pain. He knew it would be worse than last time since he only had half of what he usually had. Plus, the way his physiology was, everything that was put into it was dealt with quicker than in a normal person's (or hedgehog). He looked at the bed Judge had given him, remembering that there was a pillow in there he could use. "Hope there's some blankets in there too." Sonic said out loud. It was getting cooler as the days went on and judging by how cool it was in the room, he knew he would need it. Of course, if he couldn't get any, he could always wrap up in his jacket. Sonic opened the closet and turned the light on inside. There wasn't much, just a few sheets and blankets as well as Judge's clothes on one side.

He grabbed a pillow off one of the shelves and looked it over. It looked clean to his eye and didn't seem to be dirty. He held it a few inches in front of his face and took a quick sniff. Clean linen. Sonic shrugged his shoulders and tossed it on his bed. He felt the chills wash over him. "Oooooh!" Sonic exclaimed. Blue shook his head, trying to overcome the feeling. He grabbed a blanket off the shelf and tossed it on the bed as well. Sonic looked down and saw the mini fridge sitting on the floor. He took a knee in front of it and opened it up. He didn't expect to see what he saw. Of course there was the bachelor standards. Baloney, cheese, bread, peanut butter. There were also a few fruits and vegetables as well. Sonic wasn't sure why he was surprised to see fruit and veggies in the fridge, but up until now he was used to eating sandwiches and beer every day. He grabbed a banana and shut the door. Sonic peeled it, the pain beginning to get worse now.

The headaches had started to come. The first wave wasn't bad. Like a slight pressure just behind his eyes. This too, he knew would only get worse as time went on. He peeled the banana and ate it in three bites. "Oh damn, that's good." He moaned. He couldn't remember the last time he had tasted fruit. He looked around for a trash can and didn't see one. He went to the bathroom, but didn't see one there. He looked around the room and threw it out the window. The pain in his head began to get worse and now the chills, which had been present for some time now, were replaced by a flushing feeling. He was sweating all over and his skin felt hot. It would go like this until he got more of the needle. His stomach began to do flip flops and he felt like he was going to throw up any minute. Sonic quickly made his way over to the closet. He opened the door and reached for the TV's cord. Sonic somehow managed to find the outlet and plugged the TV in and shut the closet door. He spun around and grabbed the remote off the dresser and made his way to the bed as fast as he could, sitting down just before it felt like the banana was going to come back up.

Sonic laid down and put the pillow under his head and let his body relax fully on the bed, the queasiness subsiding and the pain lessening. Lying down did help somewhat, but Sonic knew there was nothing he could do about it until Judge returned, so he turned on the TV and awaited for Judge to return. He flipped through the channels, finally settling on 'The Joy of Painting' It was one of his favorite programs and when he watched Bob Ross paint anything, talking about happy little trees, the mannerisms Ross had, even the tone in his voice, had made him feel at ease. Since there was no cable here, the choices were limited. It was around six, so the pickings weren't very good. Eight was when TV became watchable again. His headache, which felt like it was going to blow his head off his shoulders, had began to subside once he laid down. The flushing feeling in his body was gone now, replaced by chills. Sonic grabbed the blanket and bundled up. As he lay on the bed, shivering and sweating out detox, his mind drifted to Sally again, as it had last night.

He missed her. The time they spent together, good and bad, the laughs they shared, everything about her. But that was gone now. He had left her, not because he was addicted to pain meds. He left her to spare her of the pain of dealing with him. Sonic realized it a few days before he had left for Metropolis. His mood had changed drastically. Almost everything set him off and he didn't want to be around anybody when he was like that. The only time he was even approachable was when he had some kind of pill in his system. Sonic's thoughts drifted back into the recesses of his memory. To the very last time he had really felt like himself, and the last good memory he had of the time they shared together.

It was the day before he had left for the cabin in the mountains to finish the last Misery book. Since he wouldn't be back for a week, it was always the same routine. Each wanting to give the other something to remember the other by and what would be waiting for the other upon Sonic's return. There was no phone service where he was going so the day before was always done on a grand scale. First came Sally's part. She cooked a huge dinner for both of them. Sonic had tried to cook one before, believing that men should have to share the household chores, including the cooking. But it ended up a disaster as he burned almost everything that he made, except for the Jell-O©, which, for some unexplainable reason, didn't completely form. Sally laughed and said she would cook next time, since she did most of the time anyway. She never complained though. Cooking ignited her creativity. It was like her laboratory.

After the meal had been eaten and the dishes were washed, it was Sonic's turn. He told her to wait in the front room and keep her eyes closed. "What're you planning?" She asked, giggling like a school girl. "Just sit here and wait." He said, a smile on his face. He bent down and kissed her. She pressed into him and he pressed back. Sally bit Sonic's lip lightly as he pulled away and Sally giggled again. "Don't peek." He said slyly as he walked away from her. "I won't." She promised. Sally heard Sonic go into the kitchen for a second then make his way quickly into the bedroom.

A few minutes had passed and Sonic emerged from the bedroom "Can I open my eyes now?" She asked. Sally was still sitting on the couch, eyes closed when he came back. "Not yet." He said quietly almost in a whisper. Sonic reached over and turned the lights off, leaving the hall light on so he could see. "Take my hand." He said. Sally felt herself blush as she held out her hand. The excitement grew in her. Sonic hadn't really shown a flair for romanticism before, but she wasn't about to start complaining. Sonic grabbed it and kissed it gingerly. He tugged on her hand slightly, telling her to follow him. "Ok." She said. They walked back to the bedroom and Sonic shut the door behind him. "What now?" She asked. Sally knew Sonic had put a lot of thought into whatever it was that he had planned. Although her eyes were closed, she noticed the lights in the room grow dim and heard Sonic crawl into bed. "You can open them now." He said. She opened her eyes, and what she saw, she would never forget.

Thanks to the dimmer switch, the lights had been dimmed to almost nothing and the nightstands next to the bed had candles on them, making the shadows dance around the room. The curtains on the windows had been opened enough so the moonlight could pour in, bathing the room in hues of orange, white and blue. She looked down at the bed and saw Sonic lying there on his side, the shirt, shorts and shoes he had been wearing gone, the only cloth covering him was a small section of bed sheet gingerly placed. Sally noticed he was holding out a single white rose to her. She sat down on the bed and pulled her feet up so she was half lying and half sitting next to him. Sally smiled and let out a laugh. "I noticed you opened the curtains. Hope no one's watching." Sally said, letting out another small laugh. Of course, they could leave the doors and windows unlocked and open if they wanted. That was one of the big plusses of living so far out in the country. She took the rose from him and laid it on the table on her side of the bed.

The second she turned back over to face him, he grabbed her gently and kissed her first on the neck, then moving back to her mouth. Sally opened her mouth slightly and Sonic's tongue darted inside. They made out in this fashion for several minutes, the candles making their shadows dance around the room. They broke again, both breathing heavily from the pleasure and the anticipation of what was to come. Sonic nodded his head toward the candles on his side of the bed and Sally nodded in return as they both blew out the candles on their respective sides, the shadows dancing wildly on the walls then disappearing forever. The pair made love in the glow of the moonlight. It wasn't the usual kind of 'I'm in the mood' everyday sex. They made _love._ And it went on through the night until the early hours of the morning, stopping just as the sun was coming up. When they finished, they held each other not saying a word, Sally's head gently nuzzled against Sonic's neck. The pair still shaking just slightly from the sheer ecstasy. Sonic cast his gaze downward toward her and had never seen her look so _beautiful_ than she had in that moment. Bare breasted, moonlight shrouding her sweat covered body. He kissed her again and embraced her.

The pair fell asleep in each others arms as the sun rose. Sonic awoke several hours later. Sally was still asleep and he gingerly pulled his arm out from underneath her head, somehow managing not to wake her. He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He still had a trip to make that day and he didn't want to get there late. As he showered, Sally had awoken and went to find her lover. She opened the bathroom door and walked into the shower with Sonic, not even bothering to put her clothes back on. They went another round in the shower, bringing the total to seven. They both stepped out and proceded to get started with the day. After his shower, Sonic gathered his things and tossed them into the car he had rented. She never understood why he bothered with a car in the first place when he could _run_ faster than one. When she asked, he replied, "I've never driven before. I've always ran to where I was going. I just want to feel normal for once."

Suddenly, the pain that had gathered in his body throbbed quickly then subsided, dragging him back down to earth. Sonic winced at the onset of it and felt the chills had left his body, replaced with the hot, flushing sensation again. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice he was covered in sweat, but at least the headache's had went away. "Thank God for small favors." Sonic muttered. "Where the hell is he?" Sonic muttered to himself as the pain began to get worse and worse.

The fever had left and the chills came back with a vengeance. He began to shiver even more furious this time than last. The sweat he was covered in didn't help much either. It began to evaporate, making the room feel a lot cooler than it actually was. Blue grabbed the blanket and wrapped himself in it once again, trying to fight off the cold. As Sonic lay there, feeling like he was dying, he though he heard a key slip in through the front door. Sonic thought about getting up, but he couldn't fully move. He was shaking too badly from the chills, which by now had risen to new levels. _No, that's just my mind playing tricks on me. He thought. Judge hadn't been gone the two hours like he said he would be. "O-oh g-good. Now I'm fucking ha-ha-halucinating." He said out loud, his teeth chattering from the shaking. But a few seconds later, he saw the knob turn and the door open to reveal Judge standing there holding a couple of bags in his hands. "Told you I'd be back."_


	13. Moving On

Moving On

Chapter 13

I don't know if anyone's reading these anymore, but for the ones who are, thanks. I know the last couple of chapters haven't been the greatest, (ok, they sucked) but ideas haven't been coming to me very easily. I hope that's just about over. All I can really hope for is that you read it and review it. Btw, I know I'm getting a bit whinny, but please review. Let me know if there's anything you would have changed or anything like that. Bad reviews are welcome as well. Thanks. Rated T for now.

Sonic

Sonic gripped the blanket tighter around him, trying to keep himself from freezing. The withdrawals had never been as bad as they had been until now. Sonic weakly turned his head toward the door and saw Judge was indeed standing in the doorway looking down at the shivering hedgehog he had taken in. "Holy Jumping Jesus, you look like shit." Judge said, a twinge of surprise in his voice as he walked in and closed the door behind him. Judge set the bags he had been carrying on his bed and began rummaging through them quickly. "I take it it's getting worse." He said, keeping his attention focused on the plastic bag in front of him.

Sonic turned his head in Judge's direction. "Yeah." He said weakly, struggling to speak. The chills and shaking made the simplest thing difficult. Sonic tried to lift his head up, but barely managed to get it more than an inch off the pillow. The pain had subsided somewhat, although it hadn't completely left. Although he couldn't feel it, he knew it was somewhere inside him, ready to roar back with a vengeance. It came and went at random times. Thankfully, it had subsided for now. "Well, don't you worry. We'll have you fixed up in no time. Just hang tight." Judge said. Sonic couldn't remember the last time he had shot up. He knew it hadn't been very long, but he couldn't remember an exact time frame. He knew it had been long enough that he felt like he was dying, and for all he knew, he was.

In his time with Scourge, he had done his fair share of drugs. At first, it started with pot. Just a bowl every once in a while. Then it became every couple of days, then eventually he smoked every day. Soon, pot started having no effect, and he eventually moved up to heroin. Of course, he didn't make the decision lightly. He thought about it long and hard. The Phenotol he had been taking just before he arrived at Scourge's had begun to lose their effect on him. When Scourge suggested he try pot, it took the place of the pain meds. Then the same thing happened with the pot. While he was there, just before Scourge kicked him out, Sonic had started take more of Scourge's stash and when Scourge found out, he kicked Sonic out.

"Here we go." Judge said, pulling out a case, but this one was a lot larger than the one Scourge had in his possession. Judge opened it to reveal two needles, both filled with the 'medication' Sonic's body desperately craved. He saw Judge take one needle out and hand it to Sonic. "Here you go." Judge said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a long piece of rubber and handed it to Sonic as well. Sonic sat up, still shaking and took both from Judge. Sonic set the needle down and began the process of getting his fix. "So you're just giving this to me?" Sonic asked.

Sonic knew he needed it, he still felt weird just taking it. He asked. Judge turned his head toward him and nodded, returning his gaze to the TV. It didn't take a genius to see that Sonic had a problem with the drug. Judge had seen enough of it during his time out here. He also knew telling him to get help or giving him a lecture about how he needed to get help. Judge knew he'd already been through it once before and no matter how many times you told him, it wouldn't do a damn bit of good. He also knew Sonic was at the point that if his body didn't get any heroin in it soon, there was a strong possibility of him going into shock, and there wasn't a hospital close enough for him to get to in case that did happen. Even though he was supporting a drug habit, it was better than having a dead body on his conscience.

Sonic shrugged his shoulders and tied off his arm and plunged the needle in a vein and pressed down on the plunger. The drug entered his system and the pain, fever and chills left his body. He felt like himself again, save for the nausea and dizziness that he knew would pass in a while. Blue was happy that he finally had his fix, but he was disappointed Judge only brought two. Still, he didn't have any right to complain. After all, this guy had taken him in when he needed it the most and given him his meds. Judge grabbed the other bag that had the food in it and opened the closet and started putting the food in the mini-fridge.

Sonic was feeling much better now. Sonic rubbed the place he had stuck the needle in. It usually hurt for about an hour afterwards but eventually went away. Sonic pulled himself up on the bed and leaned back against the wall, sitting Indian style in the middle of the bed, propping himself against the wall. "Got any plans for today?" Sonic asked. "Judge finished putting away the food and got up off the floor and shut the closet. "Well I was thinking of taking the yacht out on the lake, but I forgot that the motor's out for repair." Judge said, laughing and tossing Sonic an apple. "I guess we'll have to settle on taking the jet instead." Sonic said, laughing along with him and biting into the piece of fruit. _That's pretty good. _Sonic thought. "Actually," Judge said after the laughing stopped. "You any good at picking locks?" Judge asked. "If I remember right, you said something about it when you were with the MFF (Mobian Freedom Fighters) didn't you?" Judge asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I was one of the best. Second best actually." Sonic thought back to his time with the MFF. Tails was actually the best with the lock pick on the team.

They had only been on one mission before, but they worked together so well, Sally made it permanent. The team was made up of himself, Tails and Bunny Rabbot. He was the power and speed of the team; usually taking care of the first wave of Swat-Bots and make Robotnik's forces turn their attention toward him. Tails was their computer and electronics expert; following just behind Sonic and disabling whatever security system Robotnik had employed at the moment and the like. He was also the one who taught Sonic how to pick a lock. The third member of the team was Bunny. She had already been Roboticized, but didn't reverse the process completely. She was the team's hand to hand combat specialist, with Karate and Judo being her area of expertise. And since her limbs were robotic, Tails managed to increase their strength and speed, making her a formidable opponent.

Sonic nodded. "I guess I could take a look at them." He said. "Cool. There's a bathroom upstairs and I know there's a shower up there. Figured it might come in handy." Judge said.

Sonic

After the wave of dizziness and nausea had passed, Sonic stood up and followed Judge upstairs. Judge clicked on the hall light and to Sonic's surprise, it looked a lot better than Sonic thought it would. The wallpaper was peeling, but not as badly as it was downstairs, and instead of the floors being concrete, they were hardwood, which had seen better days. The second floor wasn't big. Just a small open area and four doors to choose from. Sonic grabbed the door closest to him and turned the knob. It was locked, just like Judge said it was. Blue knelt on one knee in front of the door and stared at it. "What do you think?" Judge asked, "Think we can get in?"

"Yeah." Sonic said. "You have a bobby pin?" He asked. "Downstairs somewhere. Hold on." He said, turning around and heading back down to their shared bedroom. Sonic had seen this kind of lock before. It was like the one that was on his bedroom door in Amy's house. Just staring at it brought him back to the day when he finally escaped from his room the first time. Finally getting his chance to leave his room for the first time in months, finding the gutted phone, stumbling upon the album of newspaper clippings about Amy that finally explained why she was the way she was. He remembered it all, almost as if it had happened yesterday. Seeing her standing in the doorway, holding the heavy reams of paper like they weighed nothing, not knowing if he had been caught or not.

Of course, Amy knew everything that he had done while she was out. Sonic still didn't know exactly how she knew, but he knew she did. He was so lost in thought about Amy that he didn't even hear Judge come back. "Here you go." Judge said, tapping Sonic on the shoulder and holding a paper clip out to him. Sonic jumped and fell back on his butt. "Hooo!" He exclaimed. Judge took a step back. "Didn't mean to startle you." He said, laughing a little. The color had been drained from Sonic's face and his heart was racing. "You ok? You look like you saw a ghost." Sonic cleared his throat and took the paper clip out of Judge's hand. "You could say that." Sonic straightened out the clip, then bent it twice, once at the end and again in the middle. He stuck the bent end in the lock and twisted and fiddled it around for a minute until he heard the familiar 'click' of the rocker releasing the latch. Sonic pulled the makeshift pick out of the lock and stood up. "Damn, that was quick." Judge said. "I figured you were good, but damn." He said and opened the door. Inside was an empty bedroom. Sonic turned on the light and they both walked in and looked around. "Well I guess that's what's behind door number one." Judge said. "Yup." Sonic replied. Judge opened the closet, but that was bare too. "Shall we see what's in the next one?" He asked, walking out the door. Sonic nodded his head turned off the light and shut the door.

The other two rooms were also bedrooms. There wasn't much in either of them that would be of practical use. The previous owners had just about cleaned out the entire upstairs. The only hints that people had been in either of the rooms at all were the marks on the floor where the feet of the bed had indented the floor and the telltale signs that there had been pictures hanging on the wall. Faded squares where they once hung. Judge stood in front of the last remaining door on the wall to his left, his hand gripping the knob. "Well, here goes." He said as he unlocked the door to the only bathroom in the house. Sonic smiled. It felt good to finally do something other than sit around watching TV. "You wanna go first?" Judge asked. Sonic nodded. His last shower was way overdue and he was more than happy to take advantage. "Ok. Just let me see if the hot water tank still works. Hold on a minute." Judge said, heading out of the room and down the stairs. _He's a hell of a lot different when he's got some of that in him. Guess that's how he is normally._ Judge thought. He hadn't seen this side of Sonic until now. He had only seen the withdrawn, addicted side of Sonic. This side of him passed for normal. If normal meant you weighed less than 40 lbs. After a few minutes, he heard Judge's voice calling him from somewhere downstairs. "OK. Give it about five minutes and it should be ready to go."

A Few Days Later

Things had been moving smoothly since Judge had taken Sonic in. It wasn't too bad living with Judge. The only problems were the fact they shared the same room and the TV. Sure, the thought of moving into one of the rooms upstairs did cross his mind more than once, but the only TV was downstairs and Sonic didn't feel like dragging himself downstairs if he wanted to watch something. On the bright side, he did have someone to talk to. Talking to Judge was beneficial to Sonic. Much more than he realized. He didn't reveal much about his past, only choice bits and pieces here and there. Most of Sonic's time awake was spent watching TV or talking to Judge. After a few days of the daily routine repeating itself over and over again, Sonic knew it was his time to leave. He decided things would just keep repeat themselves in the exact same way every day and he shuddered at the idea. So, Sonic woke up early the next morning before Judge had woken up. He figured it was sometime between four and five in the morning. Well, he didn't exactly wake up. He hadn't really been able to sleep well that night, tossing and turning, his brain unable to shut off for long periods of time, so it wasn't exactly difficult to wake up.

Blue looked around and saw it was still dark out, save for the moonlight streaming through the window, casting a faint blue light around the room. Sonic dragged himself out of bed and to the bathroom, not even bothering to turn on the light for fear of waking Judge up. It was something that proved to be more difficult than he expected. He somehow managed not to pee on the seat or on the floor. Blue left the bathroom, grabbed his bag and headed for the door, but stopped just before he opened it. He knew he couldn't leave without giving some kind of explanation. He wasn't about to burn another bridge twice in a row. He quietly sat back down on his bed and rummaged through his bag. A minute later he pulled out a pen and a piece of paper and began to write. It wasn't a long letter, just a quick run-through of his thoughts at the moment.

It said: 'Judge, thanks for letting me stay here, but I think it's time for me to move on. I appreciate what you've done for me, but I feel I need time alone to sort some stuff out. Hope to see you again.'

Sonic quietly lifted a corner of the TV and set a corner of the note under it so Judge would see it when he woke up. Sonic grabbed the blanket off the bed and managed to squeeze it into his duffel and headed for the door, but stopped again. _I'm gonna need a pick me up for later._ He thought. He silently made his way over to the closet and felt around for the syringe box Judge had stored inside. After a few minutes, he found it. Sonic pulled it out and opened it to make sure it was the right one and it was. One syringe, fully loaded lying inside, waiting to be used. He closed the case and stuck it in his bag, felt around and pulled out a five-dollar bill. He laid it next to the TV and pulled the note out along with his pen. He jotted down the following: P.S.: In case you're wondering what the five is for, I grabbed the last syringe. I figured that you don't use it or sell it and I'm the only one who did, you wouldn't mind if I bought it.'

Sonic set the note and the five back under the TV and quietly made his way out of the room, and out of the house and down the road.

Judge

"Sonic?" Judge called out in the dim light. Nothing. He got out of bed and went upstairs and called his name again. "Sonic, you here?" Still nothing. Judge went back downstairs and turned the light on inside the room. He looked over at the Sonic's bed and saw that it was empty and the duffel he kept next to it was gone. "He must've left earlier." Judge said. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the piece of paper and the bill sticking out from underneath the corner of the set. He took hold of it and pulled it out. He read the note and stuck the money in his pocket. _He didn't have to pay me for it. _Judge thought. "Aw well." He said, taking his cell phone out and dialing. After a few seconds of waiting, someone answered. "It's me." Judge said.

"Yeah. He left sometime during the night. What do I do now?" Judge asked. He was told to take Sonic in and await further orders. Sonic leaving unexpectedly hadn't been taken into consideration while the plan was being set into motion. Judge was just told to call if anything unexpected had happened. _Nothing. You're part is done._ "What?" Judge asked. He wasn't sure if he had heard right. "So that's it? I'm done?" Judge asked. _Yes. Don't worry. I've got contact's all over Metropolis. If anything goes wrong, I'll just have one of them keep tabs on him._ He was happy he was finally able to get out of the shit hole he had been living in until now and get back to his own house. His job until now was to take Sonic in, just like Scourge had. Only, Judge's job had ended sooner than expected. "So what'll happen now?" Judge asked. _If I know him, he'll try to find someplace to sleep for the night. There's a lot of abandoned houses around Metropolis, aren't there? _"Yeah. It shouldn't be too hard to find a place to crash in." He said. Judge knew a lot about Metropolis, which is why his boss had chosen him in the first place. _If I know him, he'll do that. I know his first night alone he slept next to a dumpster. That should be enough motivation to find a house to sleep in._ "A dumpster?" Judge asked. He knew Sonic had spent the night alone outside before he had met up with him, but he had no idea that was his first night alone.

"How many people you have working the streets for you?" Judge asked. _Well counting you? Ten. That's enough to cover anywhere he might go. Anyway, when are you going to head out? _"As soon as I hang up. I do have one favor to ask." Judge said. _What is it? _"Will you let me know how he's doing? He didn't look to good yesterday when I came back and I'm a little worried about him." Judge said. 'Little' was an understatement. When he came back from the store the other day and saw Sonic shivering underneath the blanket, he thought Sonic really was dying. _Yeah. _Then there was the sound of a dial tone. Judge stuck the phone back in his pocket and began packing the few things he had brought with him and carrying them out to his car.

Sonic

It was getting late as Sonic wandered through the streets of Metropolis, looking for a place he could call his own for the time being. He could feel his body aching and begging him to stop and sleep. He decided that he'd take the next house that looked remotely habitable. He walked one more block and decided he would pick one of the houses that were on that block. Blue walked by the first few houses. They were falling apart and weren't suitable for zoo animals. After a few minutes of walking he found a decent house. It was a small two-story house, blue trimmed in white. The yard looked like it hadn't been cared for in months. The grass at least six inches high and burned out in a few places. The doors and windows were boarded up and the porch light was busted but other than that, this place was paradise.

Blue looked around to see if anyone was looking, but didn't notice anyone out on the street. If there were, he wasn't worried about having the cops called on him. This part of town was dead. He had seen people in Metropolis, but only in the parts he had passed through. He figured that the city was carved into at least four territories. The first one, the one he passed through when he first arrived, had pimps and hookers. Sonic figured that was the Red Light section of Metropolis. The second, which was the business district, was about the only normal section he had seen, except for all the vacant stores and businesses. The third, where Scourge lived, had people living in it, but they didn't seem to bother anyone or do anything for that matter. There must've been a reason no one ever left their homes, but Sonic couldn't figure out why and when he asked Scourge one day, he just gave him a half-assed excuse, even though when Sonic was kicked out of Scourge's house that night, he didn't see anyone outside. The fourth part of town, the part that he was in now was another residential section that from what he could see was deserted.

Sonic walked around to the side of the house and looked at the breaker box. On the top, sticking out was the little glass bubble that had the metal wheel inside that showed how much electricity that house was using, barely moving inside. Sonic had to stare at it for a minute before he noticed it move slightly, indicating the house had power flowing to it. And if it had power and gas flowing to it, that meant there would be hot water. Sonic walked around to the back of the house and saw the back door was boarded up too. Blue sat his bag down and walked up to the door. He put a gloved hand on the sheet of plywood that was nailed to the frame and gave it a tug. "Nngh." Sonic moaned. It didn't budge. Blue dug his fingers under the wood as best he could and gave it another tug. He fell back a step as the board gave away a little. Sonic was able to get his fingers further behind the wood now that it had been pulled out slightly and gave it another tug. "C'mon!" Sonic grunted as the board began to give up its hold. The board was halfway off by now and Sonic was almost gave in. He steadied himself, planted his feet and pulled at it as hard as he could. "Aaaah!" He groaned as the board gave way.

"It's about time something goes right for me." He said as he set the board beside the door and put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. It was locked "Well imagine that." Sonic said. He fished around in his bag, hoping he could find a bobby pin. He knew he had tossed in a few somewhere along the way, but wasn't sure if he had anymore or not. "Come on dammit! I know you're in there!" He exclaimed, as the search became more and more frantic. Sleep was starting to grab hold of him and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Finally, he felt the small, familiar shape of the pin floating around inside the bag. He grabbed it and pulled it out, holding it in front of his face, smiling at the small victory. "Ha ha!" Sonic exclaimed as he took the few steps toward the door and bent down in front of the lock. Blue took a few calming breaths to try to steady his hands and calm his nerves. The lack of sleep was beginning to take hold fast and the sun had gone down now, leaving him to his task in the dark. "At least it's nice and cool out here." Sonic said as he bent the pin and held it just in front of the lock. This lock wasn't like the one's in Amy's house and they weren't like the ones in Judge's house either. This lock looked more modern. He knew it was going to give him trouble.

Sonic locked eyes on the lock and pushed the pin inside slowly until it stopped at the bend he made with one of the straight parts of the pin. He fiddled around with it for a minute, his hands shaking, complicating things even further. After a few more minutes of shaking and fiddling, he heard one of the tumblers inside the lock give off the familiar 'click' which signaled that it was working. Sonic smiled and began to calm down. "I wish Tails was here to see this. He'd be so proud-" Sonic stopped before he could say anymore. He took his hands off the lock and pulled away. _Where the hell did that come from? _Sonic asked himself.

He hadn't thought about any of them since they had tried to get him to go back home with them. The fact he had thought of Tails had been a big surprise to him. He had thought about Sally, Knuckles and even Shadow more than he thought of Tails. He felt shame. He figured Tails would be the one his mind drifted to the most due to the fact they had spent more time together than the other three combined. In fact, when they had all shown up, Tails barely even stayed in the room. Blue remembered Tails gave some kind of excuse and walked out. Sonic hadn't forgiven him for that, yet, he was thinking about him now. It was like a knife to the back. That hurt him more than he would admit, but he just bottled it up inside. Blue shook his head to clear it, and turned his attention back to the lock. He gave it one final turn and the lock released its grip. Sonic stood up, grabbed his bag, opened the door and went inside.

Sonic set his bag down on the inside and grabbed the wood next to the door and leaned it against the doorframe. That way, if anyone happened to glance at it, it would look like it was still nailed to the frame. Sonic shut the door and turned the lock. It clicked into place and he turned the knob and pulled on the door to make sure it wasn't gonna open at all unless someone forced it open. Sonic felt along the wall for the light switch walking slowly to avoid bumping into anything. He fumbled along for a second until he felt the familiar bump of the switch sticking out of the wall. "I hope this works." He muttered as he flicked the light on. The bulb flashed bright white for a second, then went dark. "Well. Fuck." Sonic muttered flatly. "Wait..." Sonic trailed off, grabbing his bag and frantically fishing around inside. He had forgotten until now that he packed a small flashlight before he left, knowing he'd probably be in the woods for at least a couple of nights. Sonic didn't find it in the main compartment, and began searching the pockets and flaps on the outside. He unzipped the first pocket on the front and felt around inside.

"Ah-ha!" He yelled triumphantly as he pulled the light out of it's hiding place and flicked the switch and shone it around. He was standing in the kitchen, shining the light around and taking in his surroundings. "What the hell?" Sonic wondered. There were cans of food scattered on the floor and a few of the drawers were pulled out and lying on the floor. Silverware and dishes were scattered among them, as if someone had threw open random doors, looking for something. Blue walked over to the cabinets and opened them. Shining his light inside, he found canned and dried foods like fruit and spaghetti on the shelves. Sonic suddenly felt his internal alarm go off inside his head and a chill run down his spine. Had he broken in to a house that was already claimed by a bunch of squatters? He couldn't tell if it was from lack of sleep, withdrawals, some kind of looming danger or a combination of all three. He just didn't like how this all looked.

A boarded up house that looked like it had been abandoned, but the kitchen was still filled with food? Sonic didn't like that at all. Another warning sign was the house itself. Well, the kitchen at least from what he had seen of the inside so far. If this house had been abandoned for so long, Sonic reasoned that the inside should have been in much worse shape than it was. That wasn't true here. There was a lot of dust, but the walls looked clean, no paint was peeling. He did take the dust as a good sign. It looked untouched. That put him at ease a little but not much.

Sonic cautiously took a couple steps forward toward the living room and called out. "Is anyone here?" He asked the darkness. No response. "If anyone's here, let me know and I'll leave. I'm just looking for a place to sleep. That's all." He said. Still nothing. He was on full alert now. Adrenaline flowing through him fully. It had been so long since he had felt this feeling but he welcomed it. For the first time in a long time, he felt like his old self, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Sonic shone his light into the dark depths of the living room. This room was clean too, save for a ton of dust covering every inch.

The room was fully stocked, just like the kitchen. This made his internal alarm even louder. "Well, if I live, at least I'll have a TV." He said quietly to himself, trying to put his mind at ease. Sonic aimed his light at the staircase and quietly moved, almost tip-toeing to the base of the stairs. "Hello?" Sonic called out again in case there was anyone upstairs and they hadn't heard him the first time. Sonic slowly made his way to the top of the stairs after what seemed like an eternity and looked around with the flashlight. There were only three rooms. One in front of him and two on either side of him. _Oh, choices, choices._ Sonic thought. _Which one do I open first?_ He wondered. Sonic looked at the three doors and chose the one on his right.

Blue laid his gloved hand on the knob and turned it slightly, checking to see if it was locked. _Oh please don't let this be locked._ If it was, he didn't have anymore bobby pins with him. He took a deep breath and opened the door and shined his light inside. He expected to be rushed by someone but instead he was face to face with... towels. It was a linen closet. Sonic shut the door and turned around. "Maybe I'm just fucking paranoid." He said. He did get like this when he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. It had happened a lot during the war, mostly when he was given missions where he would be gone for long periods of time. Sonic began to relax, but still felt uneasy. He wouldn't be able to fully relax until he checked the other two rooms. He walked over to the next one and turned the handle. Sonic shined the light inside and saw it was a bathroom. Clean, except for the thick layer of dust covering anything. Sonic closed the door and turned around.

"Maybe I am paranoid." He said out loud. He was in the worst city on the planet and he happened to stumble upon the nicest house in town, fully stocked and unoccupied? He laughed. "I don't know..." He trailed off and opened the other door. Sonic shined his light inside and shut it as quick as he could. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, slapping his hand over his mouth. Sonic shut the flashlight off, cracked the door open slightly and peeked in. Inside, in the middle of the room, was a Swat-Bot. He couldn't see it clearly, but he _did_ see moonlight that was reflecting off of it from what little light was shining through the space in the window. So far it hadn't spotted him yet, so Sonic knew he wasn't in any danger. Yet.

They only attacked if they spotted you, or, if they weren't given orders, attacked only if they were attacked first. Sonic watched it closely for a few minutes and waited for it to do something. Move, beep, explode. Something. But it didn't. Instead, it just stood there in the pale moonlight, still as a statue. Sonic swallowed to clear the lump in his throat and opened the door carefully. The Swat-Bot still didn't move as he carefully maneuvered up to it. He tiptoed until he could breathe on it. Sonic cautiously raised a hand up to the Bot, poked it and took a quick step backwards. Nothing. Sonic stood up straight and retook his place in front of the Bot. Sonic let out a small "Huh." He was confused. "Usually these things move when someone..." Sonic stopped and took a closer look at the Bot's frame. Usually, the little lights that covered the Swat-Bot's frame were lit up and blinking and it made little noises. This one was completely dark and quiet. "Guess it's deactivated. But where did it come from?" Sonic wondered. "Least I can do is make sure it won't come back online." He said, making his way around to the back of the bot.

Sonic turned the light back on and scanned the back of it. "Now where are you?" He asked the bot. He looked for several minutes until he came across a panel. "There you are." He said and pulled off the back panel. Sonic began to look over the circuitry carefully, running his fingers over and around, carefully pulling out certain wires. These were the wires that controlled the alarm system, scanners, comm system and weapons. Tails had taught him how to disable Swat-Bots years ago. This one was more advanced than the one's he had practiced on, but the principals and the inner workings were basically the same. The only parts that changed were the armor and weapons. After he had finished ensuring if it did somehow manage to reactivate itself, it wouldn't be able to see, communicate or try to kill him. He tossed the panel on the ground and he shined the light over it again.

He opened another panel and pulled out a small, box like object and looked it over with the light. It was slightly corroded and Sonic could tell it was useless. "That takes care of the power supply." He said, dropping it on the ground. Blue reached back into the opening and pulled out another battery. This one was smaller than the other one. This one was the back up power supply. With the Bot deactivated, Sonic could sleep soundly without worry. There was no way the Bot would work now. The circuitry and wires had been pulled out and destroyed and the battery was old and worn out. It would take a team of engineers at least a week to repair it. Now, the adrenaline that had been coursing through him was gone and he felt the grip of sleep grab hold of him again. "Well, since I'm already in a bedroom, might as well make the most of it." He said.

Sonic went back down stairs and grabbed his bag and made sure the lock on the front door was strong. Sonic rattled the knob and pulled on the door. It didn't budge and that was all it took to pass his security test. Sonic went back upstairs and back into the bedroom and shut and locked the door. Blue tossed the bag on the floor and pulled the blankets back on the bed. A slight musty smell arose from the bed as he disturbed the sheets but he didn't care. He was happy that he had a bed to sleep in for the night. Sonic laid down and stretched his arms and legs. "Ahhh." He said as he yawned and set the flashlight on the nightstand next to the bed. Sonic was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning:

Sonic blinked as the sun shined through the crack that was made between the wood nailed to the window and the frame. He sat up in bed, not knowing at first where he was. But after taking a quick look around and spotting the disassembled Swat-Bot lying in front of the bed, he remembered where he was. "Oh, damn." Sonic said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up, stretching, causing his knees to pop and crack. "I forgot what it's like to sleep in a real bed." He said, yawning and walking out into the hall and toward the bathroom. Sonic opened the door and noticed that this window had wood covering it as well. "Someone likes plywood a little too much." He said, flipping the switch on the wall and turning the light on. This one came on and didn't burn out like the one in the kitchen had. "Well I guess if someone broke all the windows, it at least keep the bugs and rain out." He said, finishing up and flushing. Sonic turned the light off and closed the door behind him.

"Now let's take a closer look at that Swat-Bot." He said. Sonic walked back into the bedroom and bent down in front of the downed Bot. The smell of dust, stale air and musty linen filled his nostrils. Sonic sneezed and shook his head. He knew he'd have to get a window open but right now he was focused on the Bot. "Let's see if we can find a date on you." He said, moving around to the back where the access panel was. Blue grabbed the small access door and looked at the inside. "Let's see... serial number, make, model." He mumbled, skimming over what was stamped on the panel. Sonic noticed that his arms and legs began to ache and his head was beginning to tingle. That meant he'd have to shoot up again soon. Sonic took a breath, which usually cleared the tingling and aching in his arms and legs for a short while, but it was only a short term fix until the cravings became stronger and he was forced to shoot up.

Sonic looked over the numbers and barcodes, finally reaching the last set. At the very bottom of the panel, was a single line of numbers. It read 3/28/19XX. "Well, it's definitely an older model, at least," Sonic paused for a second, thinking. "ten years old." Sonic's eyes grew wide and he almost lost his balance. "So that's why this house looks brand new inside!" Sonic exclaimed. He remembered way back when Robotnik had invaded Metropolis. It was during the beginning of the war and no one expected Robotnik to invade Metropolis at the time. They expected him to go after Oil Ocean to try to take control of the vast oil fields or try to dig in and build a base in the Mystic Caves. Either one would have been strategic points to control. The oil was invaluable since there was enough to power his factories and machines for the next 50 years and the Freedom Fighters hadn't had a chance to scout out the caves. Robotnik would've had an advantage using Scout Bot's to scan the caves and make sure they were safe to inhabit. He did try eventually, but he was defeated on both accounts.

But when Robotnik descended on Metropolis, no one, not even the Freedom Fighters were prepared for it. It happened suddenly in the middle of the night. Swat-Bot's decended on every street and began capturing people off the streets and forcing them out of their homes, eventually Roboticizing them and forcing them to do his bidding. The only one's that were able to escape were the one's who were quick enough to hide. No one was safe. Sonic remembered when they received the distress signal, Sally quickly scrambled his team, and double-timed it to Metropolis. When the three arrived the city was in chaos. Buildings were destroyed and the streets were littered with debris. The team spread out and began looking for survivors, but there weren't many. Most of the people that were on the streets and houses had been captured and Roboticized. Even the one's they did find weren't able to give them clear details. They were too shaken up at the time. Eventually, they did figure out the reason behind the attack. It was just a diversion so Robotnik could build up his army and finish completion of the Death Egg.

After a while, the city did manage to rebuild itself, but it was necer the same again. Sonic's team and the MFF were able to rescue most of the people that had been abducted, but the ones they did never returned to Metropolis. Most didn't due to fear or bad memories or some other reason. The buildings that had been destroyed were repaired, but the houses were never occupied again. They were just boarded up and left as they were. Sonic stood up and rubbed his eyes. That explained why the Swat-Bot was in the bedroom and the kitchen was trashed. Blue felt a pain in his stomach, but he couldn't tell if it was from guilt or heroin withdrawals. He just ignored it and walked back out into the hallway and began scouting out the rest of the house. He went down the stairs and looked around.

There wasn't much furniture. Just enough for a bachelor to live comfortably. It was covered with dust and the musty smell was still strong down here but he was surprised how well the house had stood up even after 10+ years of being empty. Sonic glanced over to the door and the guilt in his stomach swelled. Even though there was a heavy slab of plywood nailed on the inside of the door, Sonic noticed that the wood around the door knob and the slot in the frame where the deadbolt slid into the door were busted and splintered, meaning that the Bots had forced the door open. Sonic guessed that whoever was in the house, had _somehow_ managed to fight off the Bot upstairs, but had lost in the end.

But there was no time to think about that now. He had a lot to deal with today, including figuring out a way to get his fix. Sure, there was the one he had in his bag, but that would only last him a day. Two if he forced himself to stretch it out. But at least for now, the cravings weren't as strong as they were last night. Sonic guessed they were exacerbated by his lack of sleep. Sonic went downstairs to survey the rest of the house. Standing at the bottom of the stairs in the living room, he noticed that, besides everything covered in dust and cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling, the house was in remarkable shape. There was a couch, recliner, TV, which he hoped still worked, and various odds and ends. All of it looked great besides all the dust. Oh how the dust was everywhere. There wasn't much choice about how to deal with it. Unless the house had a washer and dryer or a water hose in it, assuming there was still water running through the pipes, the only thing he could deal with was the dust.

Blue took a few steps into the living room when he heard a knock at the front door. The noise made his head turn toward the noise. Sonic didn't move, unsure that he had heard a knock at the door. What if there was? Had someone seen him break into the house last night? Sonic inched his way closer to the door. It did no good to try to look through the windows. They were boarded off with heavy plywood. Sonic started to speak, but there was another knock at the door. Tap, tap, tap. This time a slightly faster and louder. At least he was sure he wasn't hearing things.

Sonic cleared his throat. "Who is it?" He asked, making his voice deeper than normal. The person on the other end spoke but Sonic couldn't make sense of it. It was too muffled. "What?" Sonic asked, almost forgetting to deepen his voice. The other repeated what they said, or at least Sonic guessed that's what they did. "I can't understand you. Go around to the back." He said. The voice mumbled something Sonic took for an OK and heard whoever it was head for the back door. Sonic quickly made his way through the kitchen and stopped at the back door, waiting for whoever it was to start talking again. Sonic looked around and saw a large kitchen knife laying on the edge of the counter. He grabbed it and held it behind his back, in case whoever it was decided to try anything funny.

As soon as he had the knife in his possession, Sonic heard the voice again. "Hmmph hmmph hmph."

Sonic's face contorted with confusion. He knew that the door wasn't thick enough to distort a person's voice as badly as this one was, even with a slab of plywood in front of the door. "I still can't understand you. Can you speak up?" Sonic asked. This time the voice was clear as day. "It's me. Open up." He heard the person say. Sonic's brain was firing off impulses as fast as it could. The voice sounded so _familiar._ "Who the hell is that?" Sonic asked himself. He _knew _that voice, but for some reason, his mind couldn't place a face on it. "Hold on. Let me open the door." Sonic said, setting the knife down on the counter and unlocking the deadbolt. Sonic slowly cracked the door open and peered outside. The person he saw made his jaw drop to the floor. "Hiya bro. You gonna let me in or what?" It was Tails.

Sonic stood there dumbfounded. Tails was the last person he expected to show up on his doorstep. Well, it wasn't really _his to begin with but that was beside the point. Sonic opened the door fully and saw it was indeed Tails standing in front of him. Sonic wanted to ask a million questions but found himself unable to speak. "Can I come in?" Tails asked. Sonic shook his head, attempting to regain his composure. "S-sure." He managed to choke out and gestured for the fox to enter. Tails entered and Sonic shut the door behind him and stood next to Tails. "So this is the new place, huh? Not bad." He said, laughing and giving Sonic a slap on the back. Sonic didn't react as the fox's hand made contact with him. Sonic just stood there, shocked that Tails had managed to find him. Of course, if anyone would find him, it was going to be Tails. Sonic felt his eyes begin to well up. He was on the verge of losing it. Sonic lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his brother. "Oh, Tails," He said between sobs. "I missed you so much." Sonic said, now weeping openly and uncontrollably. Tails didn't know how to react at first. Sonic's embrace took him by surprise. After a few seconds, Tails pulled himself together. "Hey, hey. Calm down. It hasn't been that long has it?" He asked. Sonic hugged him tightly; wanting to make sure it wasn't some kind of dream or a hallucination. After several seconds of hugging and crying, Sonic broke his hold on Tails and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry about that." He said, taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes. "It's just been so long since we've seen each other and the last time I know it..." Tails held up a hand. "No, no. It's ok. Let's just let that go." He said. Sonic motioned for Tails to follow him into the living room and he followed, both sitting down on the couch. "So, what brings you around here?" Sonic asked. "Well," Tails began; "I actually don't remember much about the last time we saw each other. All I remember is that I couldn't be in the same room with you. I don't remember why and even now I don't really know why." Sonic nodded that he understood. He wasn't sure why Tails didn't stay in the room but for those few seconds or even say a word to him. Every time he thought about it, which had been more and more frequently lately, he wasn't able to come up with an answer. "You know, I don't know either." Sonic said. "Well, I was hoping we could forget about it." Tails said. Sonic grinned. "Forget what?" Sonic asked, flashing his smile, something he hadn't done for quite a while. _

_Tails laughed. "Oh I missed that." He said. Sonic let out a sigh. "You remember how bad my lock picking used to be?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Tails laughed. "I didn't think you'd ever be able to get the hang of it. I know you didn't have much trouble with the electronic locks, but the one's that take keys, hoooo. I never thought you'd get the hang of it." Sonic nodded his head. "Oh yeah. But you know, last night, I couldn't find the key and I had to get in with a bobby pin. That took me a good while to open, but I finally got it." He said, grinning. "You mean you can actually use a bobby pin? Man, I remember you struggled with that brand new lock pick I had. I guess it was only a matter of time, huh?" Sonic nodded again. "Yeah. _

_Tails got up off the couch and walked toward the kitchen. "You mind if I get some water?" He asked. Sonic got up and followed him. "No. But I don't know if there's water in this place yet or if it's safe to drink." He said. Tails grabbed a glass out of the cabinet. "Don't worry. I can tell." He said turning the faucet on. Sonic could hear the pipes in the wall rumble as the air was forced out. The tap hissed and moaned as water slowly trickled out, then came out in full force. At first, it was a reddish brown, which meant the pipes were rusty, but soon, the color faded to clear. Tails held the glass under the tap and filled the glass. He shut the water off and held the glass up to the light and carefully looked at it, checking for the slightest impurities. Next, he sniffed the water. Sonic didn't know why, but by the look on Tails face, it passed. Finally, Tails stuck his finger in the glass, pulled it out and tasted it. "Hmmm." He said. "Yeah. It's clean." He said, taking a drink. "Mmmmm." He moaned, taking the glass away from his lips and letting out a satisfied moan. "That is some good water." He said setting the glass down on the counter._

"_So I take it the water's safe to drink?" Sonic asked. Tails shook his head. "It should. So how you been? You holding up ok being all by yourself?" Tails asked. Sonic shook his head. "I've been all right." Sonic said. In fact he felt great. He was surprised that he wasn't having any withdrawal pains or going through the shakes or any of it. There was just the little episode last night, but that had been all. Sonic still chalked it up to lack of sleep and focused his attention back to Tails. "So how're the others? How's Sally been?" He asked. Tails turned around and headed for the back door. "Come outside. I got something to show you." He said, opening the door completely ignoring Sonic. Sonic wasn't sure if he didn't hear him or if Tails was ignoring him. "Did you hear me, Tails?" He asked, but Tails was already outside. Sonic opened the door and went outside. "Did you even hear me?" Sonic repeated, his back turned toward Tails as he shut the door. _

_Sonic turned around to face Tails and his jaw dropped for the second time that morning. Standing in front of him were Knuckles, Shadow, Tails and Sally. Sonic couldn't even speak. They must've been standing out of sight when he opened the door for Tails. "What... what..." Were the only words Sonic was able to get out. The four walked up to him and stood there, staring back at him. "Thought you might like it." Tails said. Knuckles was the first to speak. "Hey man! Good to see you!" He said in his rough voice. Shadow didn't bother to speak, instead he let out a small 'hmph', which was his way of saying "How you been." Sally was the last to speak. "How you been?" She asked and gave Sonic a big hug. Sonic's eyes began to well up again as he returned Sally's hug. "Oh, you know me." He said, fighting back tears. He saw Knuckles and Tails smiling and the warmth of Sally's embrace and couldn't be happier. _

_He didn't realize until now just how much he missed them all. Sally pulled her head back just enough so her mouth was even with Sonic's ear. "I've got something to tell you." She said. Sonic pulled away where he could see her face. It was as beautiful as the last time he saw it. "What is it?" He asked, grinning ear to ear. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the air got cold as she drew him in closer. Sonic started shivering viciously as the air temperature dropped at least forty degrees. "Don't you know what time it is?" She whispered. Sonic didn't understand the question. "What are you talking about?" He asked as he pulled away from Sally again. The earthquake was getting more and more powerful with each passing second, and the air was bitter cold. But the others just stood there like nothing was wrong. "We need to get to safety!" Sonic yelled, trying to break Sally's grip. As Sonic struggled to get away, her arms held him tighter against her. "Let me go! We need to get somewhere safe! What's wrong with you?" He said, struggling to break free. Sally drew him against her again and spoke in a voice so low, Sonic had to struggle to make out what it was that she said. "It's time to wake up."_

"_What?" Sonic yelled as he suddenly sat up, not knowing where he was. All he knew was that it was dark and he was freezing and was shaking harder than he ever had before._

_That's the end of this one. One thing I'd like to point out, I've finally reached the point where I can focus on Sonic again. Anyway, please read and review. Thanks for reading._


	14. A Place Of His Own

A Place Of His Own

Chapter 14

A/N: Let's see, uh... hope this one is better and so on and so forth. Rated T. Enjoy.

Sonic looked around, trying to gather his bearings in the darkness. He was dripping with sweat, shaking violently and his body felt cold. His arms and legs were crying out in pain and he had a horrible headache, like his head was being squeezed in a vice. Sonic knew he was in deep withdrawals and it was the worst it had been so far. He never imagined it could get this bad. Sonic let out a deep guttural moan, reaching out with his arms in the darkness, feeling around for the bag he had brought with him. "Where the fuck is it?" He yelled in frustration. After blindly feeling around on the floor for a minute, he felt his hand brush across the bag.

Sonic quickly grabbed it and pulled it toward him and set it in his lap. He hastily reached in and felt around, blindly searching the one thing that would help him. The shaking was making the search difficult. Sonic was having trouble figuring out what it was he was holding in the darkness. Suddenly, Sonic pulled his hand out and leaned the bag back just enough so the front was facing up toward him. He opened the front compartment and reached in, feeling around inside. Sonic felt something hard and smooth and wrapped his hand around it and pulled it out. He ran his hand over it and felt something cool against his fingers. "I'll be damned." He said pulling out the small flashlight. It was just like in his dream, except here there were no broken robots or familiar faces.

Sonic turned the light on and it bathed the room in a dim light. "Gotta hurry." He said, turning his attention back to the task at hand. Sonic knew that the light wouldn't last very long and he knew he would have to work quickly. Sonic pulled the blanket he had grabbed off the bed at Judge's and tossed it on the bed; he shined the light inside the bag, quickly searching inside it. Blue dug around, looking for the lone syringe he had thrown inside the bag when he left Judge's place. Sonic looked and looked but couldn't find it. This made him panic even more, causing his symptoms to act up even worse. _Oh God, what if I forgot it?_ He thought, and began to dig faster.

His breathing and shaking began to intensify, and he started to panic. "Oh, where the fuck is it!" He yelled. Sonic began pulling everything out and tossing it aside, until he could see the bottom of the bag. There, sticking out from underneath what little remained inside, was the telltale sign of the plunger end of a needle. Sonic let out a celebratory laugh, reached in and pulled it out. He tossed the bag aside and held the syringe in front of him, making sure he was actually holding it in his hands and not just seeing things. "Where have you been?" He asked the needle he was holding as if it was a child.

Blue took the cap off the needle and tossed it aside casually, then placed the flashlight between his teeth, biting down firmly. It would serve a dual purpose, allowing him to see as well as something he could bite down on when he pressed the plunger. He focused the light on his left arm and held it out straight in front of him. Sonic gave his arm a good once over, attempting to find a vein. It got easier to find vein's the more he injected himself. Not from experience, but due to the fact his vein's were getting bigger and easier to locate.

Even though he was shaking, just having the drug nearby had a calming effect on him and Sonic easily plunged the needle into the vein and pulled it back. A little blood was drawn into the syringe and he smiled as he pushed down slowly. The familiar burning sensation that followed made him bite down on the flashlight between his teeth. The more he pushed down the worse the burning got. Sonic growled in pain, biting down harder and harder the more the burning became. Sonic pressed the plunger down as far as it would go, making sure to get every last drop he could inside of him and pulled the needle out. He tossed the needle aside, laid back and let out a satisfying sigh. As the drug coursed through his system, the shaking subsided and the chills and sweating stopped.

After a while, he felt like himself again. Sonic grabbed the light and shined it around the room. It was a small dirty room. The widows were boarded up what little furniture that was in the room was covered in dust. The only objects that were in the room were a broken dresser and a twin-size bed. There wasn't as much dust as there had been in the house in his dream, but it was still there. "What the hell happened last night?" Sonic asked himself. He figured he'd remember eventually and decided to drop it for now. He stood up and stretched, shining the light on the door. He walked over and shined the light on the light switch and flipped it on. Nothing. Sonic shined the light at the ceiling and saw there was no light bulb. Sonic turned around and opened the door.

Sonic shined his light around and couldn't believe what he saw. The house looked just like it had in his dream, except it wasn't a two story house. "Ok. This is getting weird." He said. Looking around, he saw that the living room and kitchen were connected, except for a doorway separating the two. The layout was the same. In the back was the kitchen. Then there was the living room. Sonic looked to his right and saw three doors leading toward the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen. The one behind him was the bedroom he had just come out of. He walked over to the next door and opened it. It was the bathroom, just like in his dream. Sonic shut the door. He didn't even bother with the next one. "That must be the closet." He said as he passed by the last door.

He looked around the kitchen. It was a little smaller than the one in his dream and there weren't any cans of food scattered on the floor. Sonic opened the cupboards and looked around but they were empty, except for the mouse droppings. Sonic shook his head in disgust and shut the door. He turned around and looked for the light switch. He found it next to the back door, just like in his dream. Sonic focused the flashlight at the ceiling and saw there was a bulb in this socket. "Well let's see if this works." He said, reaching out and flicking the switch to on. To Sonic's surprise, the light flickered for a few seconds then came on, unlike in his dream. "I'll be damned." Sonic said. "Now if the TV works, I'll have it easy." He said. In the light, the kitchen wasn't in that bad shape, just like in his dream.

Sonic turned the flashlight off and walked back into the living room, the light from the kitchen shining into the room through the doorway. Sonic looked and saw there was only a broken down couch and a small coffee table with a TV on it. He walked over to the TV and checked to make sure it was plugged in. He looked behind the TV and saw it was plugged in. Sonic laughed slightly at the irony. Almost everything that had happened in his dream was coming true, except for the broken robot and his friends standing in front of him, which honestly wouldn't surprise him if they actually showed up next.

Sonic pushed the 'Power' button on the front of the TV. Blue heard a small 'pop' as soon as he pushed the power button, then the screen slowly got brighter and the sound kicked in. It was static, but the TV did work. He smiled and flipped through the channels. He went through them all and got nothing but static. "Guess it need's an antenna." He said. Sonic leaned forward and turned the flashlight on and shined it behind the TV, looking for an antenna lying on the floor like in his dream. Unfortunately, he didn't find one. "Oh well. It shouldn't be too hard to make one. Just need to find a coat hanger." He said and shut the set off.

Sonic turned and headed off to check out the bedroom now that the sun was finally up. He opened the door and looked inside. From what light was shining through the space between the sheet of plywood and the window frame, he saw what clothes and odds and ends he had packed scattered about on the floor in his mad search for the syringe. He walked in and began picking everything up. There wasn't much, just a jacket and a couple changes of clothes he brought along with him. "I wonder if it's too much to hope for a washer." He said, grabbing the last of the clothes and stuffing them back inside the bag. He tossed a shirt and a pair of pants and socks and underwear on the bed and stood up. Sonic sat on the bed and pulled his socks and shoes off and laid them on the bed next to him. "A shower wouldn't hurt either." He said, stripping down to nothing. "And something to eat." He said, putting on the cleanest pair of boxers he could find. He noticed he was hungry too. The last thing he ate was a sandwich the day before he had left Judge's.

Sonic put on the rest of the clothes and put the one's he had taken off and placed them in the bag with the rest of his stuff. Sonic stepped back to where he had dumped everything out and began to put the few things that were left back. "Jeez. How messed up was I?" He asked himself. Sonic put the bag on top of the old dirty dresser and sat back down on the bed, hiking one leg up on the bed and tucking it behind his other leg. He set his head in his hands and tried to remember what had happened. He thought and thought, but couldn't remember everything. He only knew that he had managed to find the house, break in and pass out on the bedroom floor. "I guess the withdrawals must've started when I passed out." He said, standing up and walking out of the room. "Now let's see if the shower works in this place." He said, walking toward the bathroom and opening the door. He flicked the light on but there was no light. Sonic looked up and saw there was no bulb in the socket. "At least I have the flashlight." He said, shrugging his shoulders. He saw the bathroom wasn't has bad as the rest of the house. There were a few cobwebs here and there and the floor needed to be swept and mopped, but it wasn't that bad.

Sonic reached out and flushed the toilet. There was a whooshing sound as the water swirled around in the bowl, drained then filled back up. Sonic smiled. "At least the toilet flushes." He said. He didn't even want to think about what he would have to do if it didn't. Sonic walked over to the shower and saw the control for the water sticking out of the shower wall. He pulled on it and turned it to the 'HOT' side. After a few seconds, the showerhead began spewing out water. It wasn't much at first, but eventually, the water flowed normally. But after waiting for a good two minutes, the water was still cold. Sonic shut the water off and walked out of the bathroom. _Let's see if I can go 3 for 3. _Sonic walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of the stove.

If the gas hadn't been shutoff, it would be a simple matter of relighting the pilot light on the water heater. The stove was a gas stove with an electric light. All he had to do was turn one of the burners on and see if gas flowed out. "Think you can give me one more." He asked out loud. Sonic turned one of the burners on but not enough to cause the electric light to click on. He listened for the familiar hiss of gas, but it didn't happen. He sniffed the air, but couldn't smell anything except for the mustiness in the air. Sonic turned the other burners on and got the same result every time. He let out a sigh. "Guess its cold showers for now." He said. He shook his head and shuddered at the thought. "Oh well. At least I have a place to sleep." He said. He walked back into the bathroom, shut the door and locked it. Even though he was alone, he still locked the door. He stripped down again and laid his clothes on the tank on the back of the toilet.

Sonic turned the water on and it shot out, droplets of cold water bouncing off the floor of the shower and hitting his legs, causing him to step back. "Oh, this is going to be fun." Sonic said, stepping in as far away as he could get from the water. "Ok. You can do this. Just do it and get it over with." He said, his back turned toward the water. "On the count of three. One, two, three." He said, quickly moving under the water as soon as the word 'three' left his lips. "OHHHHHH SHIT!" He exclaimed as the water hit him. It was the quickest shower he had ever taken. Sonic rubbed his hands over himself as fast as he could so the water would soak through and get to his skin. Sonic reached down and shut the water off and stood in the shower, dripping and freezing. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath. "I guess it would have helped to grab something to dry off with, _but nooooo,_ that would make things easy on me." He said, walking over to the bathroom closet and hoping that the last person that lived here accidentally forgot one. No such luck. Sonic kicked himself for not grabbing one out of Judge's closet.

Sonic grabbed his clothes off the back of the toilet and walked back into the bedroom. He laid them down and reached into his bag and grabbed one of the dirty shirts out and used that to towel off. "Better than nothing." He said. It wasn't as good as a towel, but it managed to do it's job. After he had dried himself the best he could, he tossed the shirt on the bed and re-dressed. He sat down on the bed and began putting his shoes on, thinking about what he needed to do next. "Let's see. I'm gonna need food and money." He said, grabbing his bag and pulling out his wallet, a black tri-fold wallet. He didn't know how much money he had left, but he hoped it would be enough to last at least a couple of days. Sonic opened it and pulled out what cash he had on him. He counted $36 bucks. That should buy some food for a couple of days at least. Not much, but enough to get buy until he could come up with something more permanent. Next he thought about what to do for his fix. It wasn't like he could go and get anymore for Judge and Scourge.

Sonic found it a little odd, well, _very_ _odd_ that Scourge had heroin at all. But he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Then there was Judge. He asked Judge why he had given him heroin in the first place and he remembered what Judge told him. "If you're using and you go into withdrawals and you don't get any in your system or get to a doctor in time, it would be such a shock to your system that it might actually kill a person."

For now, there was a battle raging inside him. Hunger vs. Dope, and right now hunger was winning. "Now I know I passed by a store on my way over here. Now where was it?" Sonic wondered, standing up and sticking his wallet in his back pocket. "Maybe I can ask someone." He said walking out of the room and toward the back door. He opened it and moved the plywood over to one side, stepped out, then shut the door and replaced the plywood back in it's place, trying to make it look like no one had been inside. He walked around the side of the house and stood just in front of the sidewalk and looked around, hoping to see someone outside. "Well that's a surprise." He said. Sonic looked in the direction of the sun to get a sense of what time it was. It was almost overhead, which meant it was sometime between eleven and twelve thirty.

Sonic took a few steps and stopped. _I wonder if I can still run? _It had been over three months since he had gotten out and really been himself. Blue was unsure if he could still run like he had before. He knew his muscles had deteriorated from the lack of exercise. Going from working out and running almost every single day to doing almost nothing wasn't good. But he didn't let that discourage him. Sonic took the sprinter's position and readied himself, bending down and placing his hands on the ground in front of him. He took a deep breath and counted down from three. "One, two, three!" He shouted, and shot off down the street like a bullet. Sonic laughed as he zipped down the street, memories of the old days returning to him. He made it another block then had to stop. His legs and lungs felt like they were on fire and he was breathing hard.

"O...oh shit!" Sonic exclaimed. He leaned against a fence to catch his breath. He tried to take a step forward, but he wasn't able to move his legs. They were frozen in place. He hadn't realized how much the lack of exercise had taken its toll on him. He waited for a few minutes and tried to move a leg. It ached, but at least he was able to move it. From what he could tell, he managed to run for four blocks before he had to stop. "Now I just have to find the damn store." He said, continuing on his way.

After another ten minutes of walking, he saw someone outside. Sonic couldn't believe it. He thought his brain was playing tricks on him, but as he got closer, he realized the person was indeed real. _You mean there's people living here?_ He thought. Seeing someone outside surprised him. It was a kid, couldn't be more than 15 or 16 Sonic thought. "He should know where the store is around here." He said, making his way over to the kid. Blue walked up to him and held a hand up. "Hey. You know where there's a store around here?" Sonic asked. The kid pointed to his left. "Yeah, man. Take a right on the corner go down two blocks and make a right." He said. Sonic nodded in appreciation. "Thanks." He said and continued on his way. "No prob." The kid said as Sonic turned the corner. Blue went the way the kid told him and came across a mini-mart. It looked old and run-down, but it looked like it was open and he wasn't going to start complaining now.

Sonic opened the door and went inside. There was an older man working behind the counter who was eying Sonic wearily. "Afternoon." Sonic said to him, trying to be friendly. He had been in Metropolis for three months and this was only the forth person he had come across. The man, who looked like he was in his 60's, nodded and continued to watch Sonic. Blue ignored the glare, grabbed a small handheld basket and made his way deeper into the store. He looked around for things he didn't have to worry about refrigerating. He kicked himself for not checking the refrigerator to see if it was still working, but it wasn't important at the moment. He looked up and down the aisles carefully, making sure to buy stuff that would last him for a while. He grabbed a couple loaves of bread, a few cans of tuna fish, a jar of peanut butter and a small jar of jelly, and a lot of Spam© and a couple of rolls of TP. "This should last a few days." He said. _I just hope I have enough to pay for it._ He thought. There was still the matter of buying his dope. But he would worry about that next. Walked by the refrigerator case, grabbed a soda and headed toward the front. He set the basket up on the counter and the clerk began to ring him up.

"How you doing today, Pete?" Sonic asked looking at the guy's nametag, trying to strike up a conversation. The clerk mumbled something that Sonic couldn't pick up on. He decided to just pay for the stuff and get back home. "That'll be $15.86." The clerk said. _Shit!_ Sonic thought. He reached around and took out his wallet and grabbed a $20 and put his wallet back in his back pocket. He handed it to the clerk and Pete took it. "Out of $20." Pete opened the register and pulled out a few bills and coins. "Here you go, have a nice day." Pete said, handing Sonic his change and receipt. "Thanks. You too." Sonic said, grabbing the bag and walking out of the store. Sonic set the bag down on the ground and took out his wallet and counted how much he had left. "Twenty bucks and..." Sonic reached in and pulled the change he had and counted it. "Fourteen cents. So, I'm _almost_ fucked. Great." He said, putting the change back in his pocket, grabbing the bag and making the trip back home. "Now all I need to do is find a dealer if I can _find anyone_." He said.

The city was mostly dead from what he had seen. People hung around certain parts of town and others were empty or nearly empty, like where he was now. The residential section he was in now was sparsely inhabited. But he knew the houses weren't empty. Walking down to the mini-mart, the majority of houses he passed _were_ vacant, he was sure of that. But every once in a while, he did see houses that were occupied, but they were few and far between. Sonic turned the corner and fiddled around inside one of the two bags for the soda he had bought. He took it out and managed to take the cap off. He put it to his lips and took a long drink from it, the sugary liquid rushing inside of his mouth, his tongue tingling from the bubbles. "Damn that's good." He said, letting a small burp escape from his throat. "Been a while since I had one of these." He said, putting the cap back on and sticking it back in the bag.

Sonic walked down to the corner of the street and stopped to rest for a few minutes. "Let's see... the house was on..." he trailed off, trying to remember what street it was on and looking around for something that would serve as a landmark. Sonic looked to his right and saw the kid he had passed earlier, still standing in the same spot as he had when Sonic walked away. _I must've passed him... 15, 20 minutes ago? And he's still standing there? Either he's waiting for someone or he's a dealer._ Sonic thought. He knew it wasn't impossible that the kid was a dealer. _What the hell. If he is one, I can kill two birds with one stone. Worst case scenario, he isn't and that'll be the end of that._ He though, turning the corner and walking toward the kid. Sonic walked up to him and stopped just beside of him. "See you found the store." The kid said. Sonic nodded. "Yeah, but, uh, they didn't have everything I needed, you know what I'm saying?" Sonic asked. The kid narrowed his eyes and he shifted around slightly. Sonic could see the wheels turning in the kid's mind. He obviously knew something was up. Sonic didn't know what the protocol was for scoring drugs, but the way the kid was acting, Sonic knew he was holding. "I got a headache but they didn't have any aspirin. You know where the _pharmacy _is?" Sonic asked. _God I sound like an idiot._ Sonic thought. But he didn't think it would be a good idea to just flat out ask if he knew where he could get some drugs.

The kid shook his head. "Sure do. Follow me." The kid said and Sonic followed him up to the door of the house. The kid opened the door and walked inside. Sonic tried to follow him inside but the kid stopped him. "Naw bro. Wait here." He said and shut the door. Sonic set the bag's he was carrying down beside him and took a step away from the door and waited for the kid to come back. Sonic waited for a minute and the kid cracked the door open just enough where he could see outside. "So what ya need?" He asked. Sonic internally breathed a sigh of relief. _And that's another problem taken care of._ "You got any heroin?" Sonic asked. "Ha, ha." The kid chuckled. "You're new around here, ain't ya?" The kid asked. "Yeah." Sonic said. "I thought so. Little tip, next time you want to score, ask whoever it is if they're holding. Otherwise, they'll get suspicious and you won't get anything. And next time you need Heroin, don't call it that. Dealers will think you're a cop or a snitch. Need heroin, ask for 'H' or smack, you know what I'm saying?" The kid asked. Sonic nodded his head. "Yeah, thanks." The kid shook his head. "No prob. So how much you need?" He asked. Sonic stopped and thought for a few seconds. "How much'll $20 get me?" He asked. He saw the kid reach next to him and grab something. He held a syringe up in front of his face where Sonic could see it.

It looked like the others had, filled with the familiar white, milky substance. "This." The kid said. "You got the cash?" He asked. Sonic reached around and grabbed his wallet out and took his last $20 out and handed it to the kid. The kid took it and placed the syringe in Sonic's hand. Blue bent down and put it inside one of the bags. "Thanks." Sonic said. "No prob. You need anymore, you come and ask me, and don't worry about the cops. This side of town is dead, except for the few people that still stick around. You wanna see other people; you gotta go to the other side of town." _So that explains why there's hardly anyone around. _Sonic thought. He nodded his head and thanked the kid. "See ya." The kid said and shut the door. Sonic bend down and grabbed his bags and began walking back to the house again. "Now I just need to get some more cash."

After another twenty minutes of walking, he finally made it back to the house. He looked up toward the sun and saw it had shifted position by at least another hour. He used to be so accurate at telling the time by the sun; there was no need for a watch when he was around. Of course, he hadn't done it for a long time, but he still knew he could basically ballpark it. Though he did kick himself for not remembering to grab a watch or his cell. Sonic walked around to the back of the house and removed the plywood away from the door and set it to the side. He thought about trying the front door, but remembered it was locked from the inside and he didn't have another bobby pin, not to mention that he had nothing he could use to get the plywood off the frame. He was lucky to get the board off the back door. Also, he didn't want to take a chance of a cop or someone walking by and seeing someone trying to pick a lock on an abandoned house, although the clerk at the store and the kid he had scored off of today had been the only people he had seen in the last couple of days.

Sonic opened the back door and set the bags on the kitchen counter. "Ooooh." He moaned as the smell of dust and the staleness of the air filled his nostrils. "Oh. How the hell didn't I notice _that_ before?" He asked himself. _Guess I didn't notice it with what happened yesterday._ He thought. Sonic stepped out the back door and looked around at the houses he could see from where he was standing. Even though that kid told him there wasn't anything to worry about, he still didn't want to take more chances. Sonic opened the door all the way and leaned the sheet of plywood against the door and fresh air rushed into the house for the first time in a while. Sonic walked back inside and inhaled slightly. The smell was still in the air, but it wasn't as extreme as it was when he first walked in. Now that the door was open, there was enough light coming in so Sonic could see inside. The first thing he noticed was the floor. The linoleum was a faded blue with a floral print. It was dirty, but all it needed was a good moping from what he could tell. He wasn't much of a housekeeper, but even he didn't like anything to get too dirty, but since he didn't have a mop, there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment.

The walls were also covered in the same colored wallpaper, a floral pattern, but not the same as the floor. "Somebody really liked flowers." Sonic though out loud. He looked over toward the refrigerator. Sonic walked over to it and stood in front of it. He didn't hear the motor humming which meant it was broken or it was just unplugged. The fridge was nestled into a small alcove, made just for a refrigerator. Sonic let out a long sigh. "Fun time." He said, gripping the fridge with both hands and pulling as hard as he could. "Nnngn!" Sonic grunted as the fridge barely budged from its position. Sonic pulled again, and the fridge budged another half-inch. Sonic released his grip on the fridge and took a step back. "You're not gonna be easy, are you?" Sonic asked the fridge. He studied the situation carefully, planning his next move carefully. He looked at one side and saw there was about a three-inch gap between the side of the fridge and the wall. He looked at the other side and noticed there was the same amount of space on the other side. The wheels in Sonic's mind began to turn and he quickly formulated a plan. Sonic planted his feet and took a firm grip on both sides of the fridge. "Ok. Let's do this." He said, rocking the fridge from side to side, back and forth, walking it out of the alcove it was set in.

Sonic managed to move the fridge out enough where he could look behind it, but there wasn't enough light for him to see anything. "Be right back." Sonic said and went upstairs to grab his flashlight. He flicked it on and quickly shined the light in his hand. The batteries were dying, but it gave off enough light where he could see. He took his position at the fridge again and flicked on the light. He looked around and saw the fridge was plugged in. "Dammit." He said quietly, flicking off the light. He set the light on the counter behind him and began to move the fridge back into place, but stopped. "What if the plug..." He trailed off, and grabbed the light again and flicked it on. The light was almost dead, but he would only need it for a few more seconds if everything went right. Sonic reached out and poked the plug with the light. Nothing. He did it a few more times and still got the same result. He thought that the plug wasn't connecting inside the socket, but the fridge was just broken. He didn't have anything else to plug into the outlet and even if he did, it would only fit another refrigerator. "Ah, it was worth a shot." He said, sticking the light in his pocket and scooting the fridge back into its alcove and turning his attention to the bags of groceries.

He pulled out everything and set it on the counter in front of him. It was mostly canned goods, but he did buy a few cans of vegetables. He thought about buying a little meat, but if he did, he had no way of keeping it or cooking it for that matter. At least now he knew what he could and couldn't have. He put the cans in the cabinet next to the sink. He gave the shelf a good once over and didn't notice any rat or mouse droppings and put the bread in as well and closed the door. Sonic grabbed his soda and polished it off, setting the empty bottle on the counter and grabbing the TP.

Sonic opened the door and stuck them under the sink after making sure that it wasn't leaking. If they got wet, he'd have to sacrifice one of his shirts. Sonic laughed at the notion and walked out of the bathroom. Both the kitchen and front room were aired out pretty well now but he decided to leave the door open a while longer. He walked into the bedroom and over to the window. The same musty smell was in the bedroom too and he grabbed the board that was nailed to the window and pulled. It came off without many problems and he set it next to the window. Sunlight filled the room and Sonic could see dust floating through the air as it passed through the sunbeams shining through the window. Sonic looked out and didn't notice anyone outside. He didn't worry about the house next door since its windows were boarded up in the same fashion as his were.

Sonic set the board aside and opened the window. Fresh air rushed into the room and he welcomed it. "That's better." He said. Now that there was light where he could really see, he took a good look around. The room was dirty, but only as bad as the kitchen had been. Dusty, but not much else. Sonic walked over to the side of the bed and saw it was broken down on one side he had slept on, but still useable. There were no sheets or pillows on the bed, just his bag and clothes he had set there. There was also a dresser and a small nightstand in the room, but that was all for furniture. He opened the dresser drawers and they were empty. He moved the shirt he used to dry off earlier and tossed it to one side and grabbed the bag and dumped everything out on the bed.

The clothes fell in a pile in the middle of the bed and he grabbed the single pair of shorts and pants he had grabbed and placed them in one drawer, followed by his socks and so forth until he had everything put away, leaving the clothes he had taken off earlier on the bed. He tossed the dirty one's back into the bag, tied the string up on the opening so they didn't fall out and tossed it next to the bed. He knew he'd have to wash them eventually and he realized it would have to be done by hand since he had no washer or money to go to a Laundromat or even knew where one was. The last thing left was to put his shirts away. Sonic opened the closet and found it was empty, save for a single metal hangar on the rod. "Hey, now I can watch TV!" He said, grabbing it and setting it on top of the dresser.

Sonic opened a drawer and tossed them inside indiscriminately to get that out of the way. He shut the door and Sonic yawned and stretched his arms. He guessed it was around four but felt like he had been awake all day and night. He yawned again. He went out of the room and shut and locked the backdoor and went back into the bedroom walking over to the bed and sitting down on the side. Sonic pulled off his clothes and tossed them next to him on the bed, leaving his boxers on, letting the wind coming through the window blow over him. It was calming and it made him even sleepier. He reached down and grabbed the bag of clothes and placed it at the head of the bed and used it as a pillow, and pulled the blanket over his legs. _That little jog I had earlier must've drained me._ Sonic thought. He lay back on the bag and shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

A while later:

"Oh, let me go back to sleep." Sonic begged himself, but his body refused to oblige him. He had one of those really good dreams that you didn't want to wake up from. "I take that as a no." He said, stretching his arms and legs and lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He looked over toward the window and saw the sun was still out, yet it was getting dark. He hoped he would only sleep for an hour, but now he wanted to go back to sleep. Sonic smiled as he remembered it, still vivid in his mind. It was the night before he had left Sally to go up to the mountains to finish the last Misery book. He kicked himself on the inside again for his body to wake him up out of the best dream he had in months. He was still a little groggy from his nap, but he hauled his legs over the side of the bed and stood up and stretched, his body awakening from its peaceful slumber. Blue reached down and adjusted his boxers. They felt bunched up like they usually did after he woke up, but they still felt uncomfortable. He looked down and saw the reason why. 'Little Sonic' was awake.

He went to the bathroom and did his business, but he was still aroused. That dream had gotten him fired up and Sonic grinned. He reached down under the sink and grabbed a roll and opened it, taking off a few sheets of paper and returning to his room. Even though he was alone, he shut the door and locked it. He made the mistake of forgetting to lock the bathroom door once when he was living with Tails before he moved in with Sally and the fox had walked in on him. Tails walked in, saw what was going on and walked out without saying a word. The pair didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day and just avoided each other. The morning after, Tails was having breakfast when Sonic walked in. Tails had made him breakfast too and Sonic sat down and the pair ate in silence.

It was quiet for only a few minutes, then Sonic heard the sounds of snickering coming from Tails. Sonic blushed and put a hand in front of his eyes, trying to ignore it, but it went from quiet snickering to full on gut wrenching laughter. Sonic gave Tails a 'I-hate-you-so-much-right-now' glare. "Sorry for laughing, Sonic, but it was an accident." Tails said, finishing off the bacon on his plate. Sonic set his fork down. "It's not funny." Sonic said. Gazing down at the plate in front of him, wishing he were anywhere but where he was at the moment. "Look. It's not that bad. It's not like you're the only one that's had someone walk in on them." Tails said. He covered his mouth, trying to keep the words from escaping his mouth, but it was too late. Tails turned his gaze toward the floor. Sonic looked up and saw Tails had the same look of embarrassment on his face that Sonic had. "It-it happened to you too?" He asked. Tails nodded. Suddenly he felt better about what had happened. "Who was it?" Sonic asked. He knew it hadn't been him so he figured it had to be one of the others.

Tails took a deep breath and let it out. "You promise you won't laugh?" Tails asked, wishing he was somewhere else at the moment. "Promise. Like I said, it's not funny." He said. Tails took a deep breath and let it out. "Well, the first time it happened, Knuckles walked in on me." He said, and buried his head in his arms, trying to hide from the shame. Sonic didn't say anything for a few seconds and peeked at Sonic through the corner of his eye. Blue was just staring at him. "Knuckles?" He asked, his voice flat and emotionless. "Yeah." Sonic heard Tails voice mutter. There was silence for a few more seconds then the room filled with laughter. Tails looked up quickly and saw Sonic bent over the table laughing as hard as he had when Sonic had come out of his room earlier. "Knuckles? Really?" Sonic managed to somehow speak through the laughter. This time, it was Tails' turn to glare at Sonic. Blue's laughter subsided a minute later and he was able to speak again. "Sorry. Sorry." He said, wiping away a few tears. "Okay. I guess I deserve that." Tails said, pulling his head up off the table.

"Yeah, you did." Sonic said and took a bite of his food. "So did he enjoy the show?" Sonic asked, busting up laughing again. He knew it was rubbing salt in the wound, but he couldn't pass up an opening like that. Tails expression changed from embarrassment to anger. "You think that's funny! Well you did it too!" He yelled, pointing at Sonic. Sonic stopped laughing and stared at Tails. "Wha-" He trailed off. The anger faded from Tails as quickly as it had overcome him. It was a secret Tails' had kept until now. "Yeah. I, uh, never said anything for obvious reasons, but, yeah. You did. Once." Sonic looked at the fox in disbelief. "When?" Sonic asked. He didn't want to and he felt weird asking, but it was like having a Christmas present and not being able to open it. He had to know.

"A few weeks ago I went to bed early. I was tired, but I couldn't go to sleep. I laid there for a good two hours, but I just couldn't fall asleep. So I figured if I, uh, you know, did it, it might make me sleepy. So I started and I guess you heard me." Tails noticed Sonic had his head buried in his hands again. "Oh God." He said. "You said you wanted to know, so I'm letting you know." Tails said. Sonic let out a small why-did-I-ask growl as Tails continued. "I remember. I was going to bed and I had to go to the bathroom. I heard you making the noises you make when you're having a bad dream and I thought I'd check in on you. But I guess it wasn't a dream." Sonic said. He remembered everything now. "Hey, at least it was dark, right?" Tails said. Sonic nodded. "Yeah." Sonic said.

He reached out and put a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Look, how about we forget this whole thing, huh?" Tails smiled and nodded. "Agreed." He said. "And from now on, make sure we lock the doors." Tails said laughing. Sonic nodded. "Or hang a sock on the doorknob." He said laughing as well.

Sonic went over to the window and pulled the plywood over the window enough so air would still come through the window, but no one would see him if they did. He doubted it, but he wasn't about to get careless. He went over to the side of the bed and took off his boxer's and let them fall on the floor and climbed in the middle of the bed; Sonic leaned against the wall and brought his legs up to his chest.

Sonic took a few deep breaths and began. He started slowly at first, thinking back on the dream as the fuel for the fire. It wasn't very hard to remember since it was still fresh in his mind. Sonic closed his eyes, focusing specifically on certain images, especially the way Sally had looked in the moonlight. As he continued, his pace quickened slowly but surely. Even though the window was open and the air flowing inside was cool, Sonic's body began to get hot from his passion and he began to sweat. His breathing went from normal to heavy; he began moaning and squirming around on the bed, his body tingling from the pleasure and excitement. It had been a while since he had sex and even longer since he had went solo, but this time it was intense. He knew it had been building up for sometime and he knew when it happened, it was going to be powerful.

Sonic stopped and took a small breather. He lay on the bed, panting, sweating and relishing every sensation. He wiped the sweat of his forehead with his hand and waited a few minutes, then started back up again. Sonic switched his pace from slow to fast, mixing it up every couple of minutes to throw himself off balance, attempting to keep the train going for as long as he could.

But soon, he felt it all coming to an end. The familiar tingling as everything began to come to the logical conclusion point. Sonic wanted to go quicken his pace, but forced himself to slow down, making it last as long as he could. It worked, but only for a few minutes more. As the conclusion neared, he grunted and moaned as he felt an explosion of the purest pleasure burst in his nether regions as Sonic lurched forward and his body tensed and his toes curled as one of the most powerful orgasm's he had ever experienced coursed it's way through his body.

Sonic fell back against the wall, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. "Mmmmmm!" Sonic moaned. "Oh, hallelujah." He said. Blue leaned back against the wall for a few moments to gather himself. He stood up and went into the bathroom and tossed the toilet paper into the bowl and flushed it. He grabbed a little more and finished cleaning himself up, ran his hands under the water to wash them as best he could, then returned to the bedroom and put his boxers back on, not even bothering with the rest of his clothes. He thought about taking a shower to wash the sweat off, but he didn't want to bother with the cold. After waiting a few minutes, he grabbed the flashlight off the nightstand next to the table and the coat hangar off the dresser and left the room.

It wasn't dark enough for him to have to use the flashlight, but he didn't want to be stumbling around in the dark tying to find it. Sonic walked over to the TV and turned it on. It made the same noises as it had when he first turned it on and a few seconds later, the screen aglow with static; the speakers spitting out the faint sounds of static. It wasn't a big TV or the newest model. In fact, it looked pretty old. Sonic guessed it was at least 15 years old if not older. It didn't even have the video jack's on the back for a DVD player. It didn't even come with a remote. Sonic noticed that the front had two four knobs. One to change the channel; one to turn it one; a volume knob and one that had been broken off long ago.

Sonic took the metal hangar and straitened it out as well as he could. He turned the set to the side, stuck the flashlight in his mouth, turned it on and stuck it in the antenna port in the back. It resisted at first, but he managed to make it fit. "Let's see if this old girl still works." He said, reaching up and twisting the channel knob. He went through the first few channels and picked up nothing but static. "Come on, now. I know you still have it in you." He said, trying to will the TV into doing what he wanted. He went through a few more channels, and finally came upon one that picked up a station. It was faint, but it was a signal. He moved the hangar around, attempting to bring the picture into focus. It worked somewhat, but not well enough to get a clear picture; it did pick up sound though.

Sonic turned the volume up enough where he could hear it. It was one of those talk shows that constantly focused on one topic all the time, usually paternity tests or a guy slept with a woman that turned out to be a man. He couldn't stand those shows, but Sally loved them. She tried to get him to watch them, but he always managed to get out of it. Sonic kept fiddling with the antenna, eventually bringing in the signal clear enough for him to see it. "I forgot how big a pain in the ass TV used to be. But I can't complain." Sonic said, flipping through the rest of the channels. "Your not so bad." He said, slapping the wall in front of him.

Sonic finished with the TV and turned it back to its original position. _It's not too bad here._ He thought, walking into the kitchen and turning on the only light in the house. It flickered on and bathed the kitchen and living room in a soft, white light. He switched off the flashlight and tossed it on the couch. _The TV might be a B&W set and the showers might be cold, but it is a place to stay._ Sonic heard the familiar sound of his stomach growling. "Oh, you getting hungry?" He asked, placing a hand on his belly. It rumbled again, and he rubbed it softly. "Ok, ok. Hold on a minute." He said, walking into the kitchen and opening the cupboard. He grabbed the bread and a can of tuna and set them on the counter. Sonic also grabbed one of the plastic bags he had left on the counter and spread it on the counter in front of him. He wasn't about to put anything down on the counter's surface that was going into his mouth.

Sonic opened the bread and took out two slices, closed the bag and placed it back inside the cabinet. Next, he turned his attention to the tuna. He picked it up and realized that he didn't have a can opener. "Shit." Sonic cursed under his breath. Almost everything he had bought was easy to open; except for the tuna. He had grabbed them without thinking. Sonic set the can down on the counter and began rummaging through the silverware drawer. It was empty except for a broken spoon and the plastic silverware tray. He lifted the tray up and looked underneath it. There wasn't enough light for him to see well and he went back to the couch and grabbed the flashlight. He turned it on and shined it inside the drawer. Way in the back, he saw it lying against the back of the drawer. Sonic reached in and pulled it out. It was old and beginning to rust, but the sharp edge that cut into the can still looked sharp; otherwise it was in good condition. He closed the drawer and set it on the lip of the can and pressed down. The sharp point dug into the metal and when it pierced through the lid, a small 'whoosh' could be heard as air rushed into the opening.

Blue quickly opened the can and drained the water off of the can and dumped the tuna on the bread, digging his finger inside the can and digging out any tuna that remained inside. He took the sandwich and headed to the couch, sat down and dug in. Sonic reached out and changed the channel. He turned the knob until he stumbled on a sitcom. It wasn't his favorite, but it beat the news or infomercials. He finished his sandwich and his stomach gave off a low growl. "You're welcome." He said, rubbing his belly again. The sandwich had filled him up. He felt like he had just eaten ten chilidogs. Sonic remembered when he could actually put away ten chilidogs and not even blink an eye. Now, one sandwich was almost too much for him. He brushed it off. He wasn't eating like he used to. Going from eating three times a day to once every couple of days had shrunken his stomach. He didn't need a doctor to tell him that. He could just feel it.

Sonic watched TV for a while until he began to feel sleep begin to call his name. "OK. I guess it's that time, isn't it?" He said, standing up and yawning; he stretched and reached over and turned the TV off. He readied the flashlight and made sure the back door was locked and turned the kitchen light off. He flicked the flashlight on and walked into the bedroom and locked the door behind him. "Man, what a day." He said, setting this duffel at the head of the bed and sprawling out in the middle of it, pulling the blanket over his legs. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. There was some moonlight streaming through the window, bathing it in a very bluish-white glow.

He thought about his situation. It could have been worse. He did manage to find a house that was empty, had electricity, a bed and running water and a TV to boot, which to him was like finding El Dorado. But there were still problems he had to deal with. What would he do for clean clothes? It wasn't like there was a Laundromat he could use; even if there was, he didn't have the money for it anyway. What about food? Sure, there was enough for at least a week. Two if he had to stretch it. But what would he do when he ran out? Not to mention cash. He barely had enough to buy anything, let alone food. And his habit. How was he going to keep that up? It wasn't like there was any place he could get it from for free anymore. "Oh fuck it. I'll just figure it out in the morning." He said, and rolled over on his side and fell asleep.

I really don't have anything to add here. Thanks for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

From now on, I will start answering reviews at the start of the next chapter. Since I can't get Internet service where I live, because one company controls my town's Internet service and for some reason, they don't service the part just outside the city limits where I live. Anyway, I can get my e-mail from my phone, but I can't access the fan fiction website from it or answer reviews when they come in, so I will answer them here from now on. Rated M. (I hope I got the rating right this time.) One last thing, I couldn't think of a name for this chapter, so I just called it Chapter 15.

AyumiHedgeWolf- Thanks for the virtual cookies! :) To answer your questions; Sonic has always been a horrible cook, unless it's Chilidog's or it comes from a can. And about your question on Judge, can you be a little more specific? I don't know how to answer that one. Sorry.

The sunlight shined through the window and a slight breeze blew through as Sonic sat up in bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, trying to shake the tight grip of sleep. He looked out the window through half opened eyes and saw the sun was already up. He got up and after stretching he walked out of the room, went to the bathroom, then turned on the TV. Blue quickly flipped through the channels coming across the morning news. '9:12' the clock on the screen said. His stomach growled and he rubbed his belly. "You're up awful early, aren't you?" He asked, rubbing his stomach lightly.

"Let's see if we can do something about that." He said, walking into the kitchen and over to the cupboard. He opened it and took down one of the cans of Spam© and the loaf of bread. "I'll be damned." Sonic said to himself. He figured with an open can of food, there'd be sign's that roaches or mice would have been eating from the can, but when he took the top off, he saw the food inside hadn't been disturbed. But, not wanting to take any chances, he laid a plastic bag down on the counter. He didn't have anything to wipe the counter down with and he wasn't comfortable using just water so he used what he had on hand. Sonic put a couple slices of bread down on the plastic. He took hold of the can of meat, gripping it firmly in his hand, gave it a couple of hard shakes, trying do dislodge the meat from inside the can. "Come on, let go." He said to the can. As Sonic shook the can, the Spam© began to slide slowly from inside the can. Once he saw the meat began to dislodge, he started shaking it harder. His arm felt like it was going to fall off, but he won the battle as the meat slid out eventually, landing with a 'plop' sound as it hit the counter.

Blue grabbed the lid from the can and used it to cut off a couple of slices and lay them on the bread. "There we go." He said, his stomach growling as he finished the sandwich. "Hold on a minute." He said, looking down at his belly. As soon as those words left his mouth, his stomach ceased it's complaining, almost as if it was listening. He put what meat was left back inside the can and covered it with the lid the best he could, then put the can inside the bag and put the bag inside the cupboard, sealing it as best he could and shut the door.

He walked over to the couch and sat down to watch the news. He thought about changing the channel, but he knew there wasn't going to be much on for at least another hour. At ten o'clock 'The Price Is Right' came on, one show he always enjoyed. Then after that, there wasn't much else on until six at least, which gave him plenty of time to think. Sonic took a bite of sandwich and swallowed it. It was cold and he forgot to wipe off the jelly stuff that covered every chunk of ©Spam; he nearly gagged, but forced himself to swallow it. "Oh God, that's horrible." He said, coughing and wiping off a few flecks of spit hanging off his lip. He got up and walked over to the sink and took one of the slices of bread from his sandwich off, placing it underneath the other slice of bread. Sonic wiped off as much of the slime as he could and shook it off in the sink; Blue turned the water on and washed it down the drain. He flipped the chunk of meat over did the same to the other side and put the sandwich back together and went back over to the couch.

He finished his sandwich and began to go through what he still needed to do. First thing that popped into his head was the matter of clean clothes. He could go for a while, but eventually they'd need to be washed. Since there wasn't a Laundromat around and he didn't have a washer, it was a simple matter of washing them by hand. Of course it wouldn't be easy since he didn't have any soap, but it was better than nothing. "Let's see," He said. "Next is food. I can go for at least a week with what I have now, two if I stretch it." He said. "Cash is another..." He said, trailing off. The news went off and he flipped it over to 'The Price Is Right', but he didn't pay much attention to it. It was there mostly for background noise to help him think. Sonic racked his brain trying to come up with a plan, but it was no use. Most of the ideas were useless. He didn't know why he was having so much trouble figuring out what to do. Usually, planning something out was his strong suit, but lately, he had begun to, not lose his ability to think per se; it was just taking longer for ideas to come to fruition.

"Guess I could rob somebody." He said, laughing. He dismissed it at first, but the more time dragged on, the more robbing someone made sense. "I couldn't do that." He said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Maybe I could just go back home." He said, but dismissed that idea too. "No. I can't do that. There's no way I could face them now." He said. Sonic knew that was out of the question. There was no going back there, not after what he had went through after Amy. Once he had managed to escape from Amy's, the doctors told him the only way he would get full use out of his legs again is if they were rebroken and set properly. If he didn't, he'd never be able to walk again properly. Once he was released, Sally went from being his girlfriend to a full time nurse. He refused her help at first; trying to do everything on his own at first, but being in a wheelchair was a lot more difficult than he thought it was going to be. Just about the only things he needed help with was when he needed to go to bathroom and putting on his pants.

He knew he needer to do most thing's for him, but it made him uncomfortable having her doing almost everything for him. Sonic had always been independant and tried to keep it that way, until he tried going to the bathroom. She helped get his chair inside then he looked at her and said, "Thank's Sal, but I can get it from here." Sally knew it would be impossible for him to stand long enough to get his pants down, let alone turn and sit down on the toilet. He tried to stand up, but a bolt of pain shot through his legs as he fell back into the chair. *Ugh* He grunted as his butt went back in the chair. _Stubborn ass. _Sally thought as she reached out for his shoulder. "Here, let me help you." She said, lifting one of the arms of the chair off and laid it on the sink. He turned his head and started to snap at her, but regained his composure before he did. "Let me do it. Please." He said, putting a hand on the toilet seat and trying to pull himself over. "Okay." She said and took a step back. *Unngh!* Sonic groaned as his muscles strained to meet the demand. Normally, he'd be able to do this with ease, but being trapped in the 'Funhouse' meant his muscles started to athrophy.

He tried several more times, unsucsesfully. He fell back in the chair, tired and out of breath. Sally gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sonic, let me help you." She said gently. Sonic nodded, too tired to say a word or object. She managed to get his pants off and tossed them on the floor. She got him on the toilet and waited outside until he was done, then she helped get him back into his chair. "Look, I know it's not-" Sonic held up a hand, cutting her off. "I know what you're going to say, and you don't have to say it. It's ok." He said and gave her a gentle kiss.

Then there was the therapy. Both Sonic's therapist and Sally agreed that after everything that had happend, it would be good for him to talk about what had happened. But he didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to be left alone. Deal with it his own way. Sally talked him into it, but he only went through three session's before giving it up. Just walked away from it. Of course, Sally tried to get him to go back, but he just refused to.

Being addicted to painkillers at the same time didn't help much either. When he had some, he was his old self, laughing and joking around. But when he ran out or wasn't able to get to his stash right away, his personallity did a complete 180°. He was moody and constantly complaining. He remembered once when he hadn't had any of his meds for a few days and one day, Sally was hanging around him more than usuall. He tried to get to his stash, but couldn't get away from her long enough to. Sally was just getting on his nerves. All she would do is talk and talk; pointless shit as far as he was concerned. He wished he could just be left alone, but she just kept right on talking, up until he snapped.

He couldn't remember exactly what she was doing when the switch in his head was flipped, but he remembered she just asked him a question, and that was all it took. He remembered she was holding something in her hand, and she turned around, smiling and oblivious to what was about to happen. He didn't remember much before he slapped her, but he remembered she turned toward the dresser and as soon as she turned around, he reached back as far as he could and slapped her. *SLAP* His hand made contact with her face and she stumbled back against the dresser, falling down. She looked up at him, rubbing her cheek, tears welling in her eyes. "Wha... why did..." She stuttered. The utter shock of it left her speechless. Sonic was the last person she ever thought would do something like strike her. Sonic looked down at her from his chair, mocking her. "Boo-hoo! Shut up! All you've done all day is talk. Blah, blah, blah." He said, holding up a hand and making talking motions with it. "Is it too much to ask for some fucking peace around here?" He asked. Sally pulled herself up, grabbing on to the dresser for support. He remembered the look on her face and it was something he had never seen before, not even when they were in the war together. It was fear. Fear of him. Tears streaming from her beautiful emerald eyes, the eyes he loved about her now filled with confusion and shock. He glared at her as she slowly made her way over to the bedroom door. She put a hand on the knob and turned it, but didn't open it. "Why?" She asked, voice wavering and tears streaming from her eyes. "Get out." He growled.

Sally opened the door and ran out of the room, the sound of her weeping growing fainter. Sonic heard the jingling of keys as she threw open the front door, and a few seconds later, he heard her car start. Sonic wheeled over to the window and parted the curtain; watching as she sped down the road as fast as she could. He threw the curtain against the window and it fell back in place. "Good. Maybe now I can get some Goddamn peace and fucking here." He said, flatly, and rolled out of the bedroom.

Now that she was gone, he went to his stash and downed a couple of pills and he returned to normal; Sally came back the next morning, but she never said a word about it, even though now that he could look back on it clearly, he knew there was no way he could ever make up for what he had done. Never. But neither of them ever brought it up. Of course, he tried to apologize as soon as she walked through the door the next morning, but she just held up a hand. "Let's just forget about it, okay." She said, no emotion in her voice. Sonic felt his heart sink into his stomach. The way she _said _it made him feel lower than he ever had in his life. It was like she wasn't even there the way she said it.

He tried to apologize to her, but she just got up and walked away, disappearing into the back of the house. She barely spoke two words to him over the next three days. That was the biggest reason why he didn't want to go back. He knew that if withdrawls from painkillers had made him so irritable that he would slap someone he loved with every fiber of his being, he knew heroin withdrawals would be much worse, and if he was around Sally and he lost it, it would be much more than a slap.

Sonic felt the tears in his eyes begin to well up. He didn't even try to stop himself. Sonic pulled himself up on the couch and curled up in the fetal position. He turned over, facing the back of the couch and cried into the cushion's to try to stifle the sounds. It soon got worse as _everything_ he had been holding in for so long came flooding out. Sonic buried his head into the cushion, ignoring the smell of old fabric and dust and cried until he reached the point where he started screaming; the kind of deep, gutteral screams one did when someone close to them died.

Twenty minutes. He knew it had been twenty minutes because of the clock on the TV, he wiped what few tears were around his eyes. He sat up and looked down where his head had been and saw the wet spot where his head was. He sniffed to clear his nose and rubbed his eyes. They were still damp and he wiped what little had come off on his boxers. He went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up the best he could. Sonic took one look in the mirror and shook his head. He walked into his bedroom and began to finally dress himself. He went through his options one last time and realized the only one that had a shot of working was if he robbed someone. "But where do I go?" He asked himself. "The mini-mart." He said as it dawned on him. He grabbed his stuff and left.

He knew soon, withdrawals would set in soon and he'd have to get some heroin from somewhere. He had one shot at the house, but he knew there was no way to make that last. He walked out the back and headed for the mini-mall as fast as he could. He made it there in less than twenty minutes, but stopped just around the corner. _I can't do this._ He thought and turned around. "You have to. You know there's no other choice." He said. _No, I can't. This isn't how I do things._ His conciense said to him. _No. There's got to be another way. You know there is. You're just taking the easy way out. Besides, you do this and you go to jail, you aren't going to get any heroin and you know that. You'll just sit in a cell, wither up and die. You know that._ His conciense fired back. Sonic shook his head. _This is the only way, you know that. Besides, you've already gone through all the other options. This is the only one that has a chance of working and you know that_. He thought. Sonic knew this was the only choice he had. "Just do it and get it over with." He said, stuck his hands in his pockets and headed for the front door.

Sonic opened the door and walked in. He looked behind the counter and saw that Pete was working behind the counter again. Pete gave him a slight nod and turned his attention back to the paper. Blue walked up to the counter, hands shaking. He was nervous and he wasn't hiding it well. _Just ask for the money and get the hell out of here. That's all you have to do. _"You need something?" Pete asked, not even bothering to look up from his paper. "Yeah." Sonic blurted out. His voice cracked slightly. "Give me all the money in the register!" He demanded. The little outburst made Pete look up from his paper, but he didn't even bat an eye. "Yeah, right." Pete said, still reading the paper. "I ain't joking! Give me the money or I'm gonna kill you!" He said, trying to hide the anxiety on his face. His knees felt like jelly, but he managed to keep himself standing upright.

"Give me the money now!" Sonic demanded. Pete set his paper down on the counter and looked Sonic in the eyes. "Look son. This isn't my first dance, alright?" Pete said, folding his arms and leaning foreward on the counter. "What the hell are you talking about? I said, give me the money or I'm gonna blow you're fucking head off old man!" Sonic said, trying his best to sound angry and menacing, but the nervousness was way too obvious in his voice. Pete shook his head. "Look at you. You're shaking, sweating; you're nervous, and look." Pete said, pointing at the pocket Sonic had his hand shoved into. "You can even tell you ain't got a gun in yer pocket. There ain't any outline." He said, pointing and laughing.

"Let me make you a deal, ok? You leave right now and I won't call the cops on you. Take it or leave it." He said. Sonic thought it over and realized he was right. "I'm sorry." He blurted out and ran out the door. Pete chuckled and returned to his paper. As soon as he was around the corner, he stopped and leaned up against the building and waited for his heart to stop pounding. His head was starting to throb, which meant the withdrawals were starting up again. _No. No, it's too early._ Sonic thought. He knew it was too early for the withdrawal process to start. It hadn't even been a full day since his last shot. They had never begun this early, but it didn't surprise him. He knew they were part of the process, but he couldn't figure out why they happened so soon after his last shot, but Sonic just assumed it was a consiquence of using heroin. But he knew he was really fucked. And since the robbery didn't work, he was out of ideas.

The walk back home was slow. For the second time that day, he felt ashamed of himself. He made the final turn down his street and kept walking. After a few minutes he passed the house where he had bought his first syringe. He thought about coming here to see if he could get some more, but he knew he didn't have enough. He figured he'd rob the store, then come back here and load up. But since his forray into theft didn't pan out, it was his last resort. Sonic walked up to the front door and knocked.

He didn't hear anything after a few seconds and knocked again. This time he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from inside the house. "Hold on a minute, I'm coming." He heard the voice of the kid from yesterday. The kid opened the door and looked out. "Waddaya... oh it's you. Whatd'ya need?" He asked, opening the door a little further. "Hey man. I need some more. Same as yesterday." Sonic said. "You got the cash?" Dave asked. Sonic reached into his wallet and pulled out his last $10 and handed it to Dave.

"It's all I have." Sonic said. "Hold on a minute." Dave said and shut the door. Sonic waited and Dave returned a couple of minutes later with a syringe and handed it to him. Sonic noticed the syringe was only half full. "Sorry. Ten only buys you half." Dave said. Sonic shook his head and stuck the syringe in his pocket. "It's cool. Beggars can't be choosers. Thanks man." He said and headed back toward the house as he heard Dave shut the door behind him.

Sonic made it back to the house and went it and took the needle out of his pocket and set it in his room on top of the dresser and lay down on the bed. He put the duffel behind his head and put his arms behind his head. Sonic kicked his shoes off and let them fall on the floor next to the bed. It felt good and he went into 'relaxation mode'. Now that he had his next fix, he had to figure out what he was going to do for cash. Robbery was out of the question. His first attempt at the mini-mart that morning had been his last foray into a life of crime. He thought about trying to get a job, but that was out of the question. Metropolis was in such bad shape, he knew that any buisnes that was still open was struggling just to stay in buisness and pay what few employees they had, and anyone that had a job in town wasn't about to let it go. _So that's out of the question._ He thought.

He went through a few other ideas that didn't seem bad at first. He thought about going around town picking up cans and bottles, but it would take too long to gather up enough and he just didn't have the energy to do it. Mowing lawns came to mind, but he quickly shot that idea down. Besides, it didn't look like anyone was worried about their lawns; not having a lawnmower or the gas to put in one didn't help either. Every idea he came up with fizzled out in the end. None of them had any realistic possibility of suceeding in Metropolis.

He spent the next hour trying to come up with various ways to make money that didn't plan out, so he gave up on it for the moment, hoping something might come to him later on. It was getting dark outside and the light inside the house was dim, so Sonic turned on the TV to get more light in the house, and went back into the bedroom and grabbed the flashlight off the nightstand next to the bed and stuck it in his pocket. Sonic heard his stomach growling and he went into the kitchen to make himself a couple of sandwiches out of the last of the spam. Blue was getting tired of sandwiches, but since there was no way to keep meat or cook it, they were pretty much his only option.

He took the sandwich and sat down on the couch for a night of cold Spam© sandwiches and black and white TV. Not bad considering the situation. _You could be dead_. He thought and he flipped through the channels and settled on CSI™. "Nice." He said, settling in and digging into his sandwiches, this time though he remembered to wipe off that horrible jelly stuff that was always on it. He quickly blew through one then devoured the other. _Only thing that's missing is some cheese._ Sonic thought as he finished the other one then settled in for the rest of CSI™.

He had seen the episode before, but he still enjoyed it. There wasn't much on TV that he enjoyed anymore. But he did have a few left he enjoyed. He watched TV for another hour then turned it off and called it a night.

Sonic opened the window and a cool breeze blew in. Summer had passed and gave way to fall. The days were still a little warm, but the nights had begun to get colder as the days passed. He patted himself on the back for grabbing the blanket he 'borrowed' from Judge. The blanket was just a little bigger than the mattress and Sonic spread it out like a sleeping bag. Half would be on the mattress for him to lie on, and the other half he could throw over himself in case it got cold during the night. Sonic pulled off his socks and shoes and set them on the floor just under the bed. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor on the dresser, followed by his pants and boxers. He repositioned the duffel under his head, pulled the blanket over himself and relaxed.

_Time to try again_. He thought, running through the list of ideas in his head. He had some food in his stomach and eating always helped his thinking process. He went through every idea he had come up with so far, thinking about every one of them carefully, trying to find a way to make it work. In the end, he always found some fatal flaw with it and threw it out. "Aaaaah!" Sonic yawned, turning over and closing his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow will be better." He said, yawning one final time and drifting off to sleep.

The next morning

Sonic woke up quickly and sat up, looking around the room, wiping a couple of tears away from his eyes. For a second he couldn't remember where he was, then realized that it had been a dream. He got out of bed and put on his boxers and pants and went to the bathroom. He opened another can of ©Spam and made another sandwich and sat down on the couch to watch some TV, hoping it would take his mind off it. He watched the morning news, but that dream was all he could think about.

The images had been so clear. It wasn't exactly a dream, but more like a memory. It was when he served in the MFF (Mobian Freedom Fighters), he had heard stories from people they had rescued and helped out. He remembered one woman in particular. Robotnik was holding her in one of his so-called 'strongholds' along with a hundred others. His team had stormed fatty's hideout and managed to rescue everyone that was being held, including her. His team had arrived just in time. All the prisoners that were there had just begun the Roboticizing process and Sonic and his team had gotten there just in time.

They managed to free everyone, but she stood out from the others. The others had barely mumbled a 'Thank You' at the three as they rushed by, but she dropped to her knees, crying. After they had cleaned up everything and shut down his facillity, they pulled her aside. They noticed that she had a few cuts and bruises, as well as a few burn marks on her in various places. Tails pulled out one of his Med-Bots, one of his many inventions and began treating her. Sonic asked her what had happened up to the point they had gotten there and she obliged. "I don't remember. I was in my house, then I woke up here." She said, wiping away tears. Tails nodded. "Sounds like they used knockout gas. Probably the standard chloraform spray." He said, tapping a few buttons on the small device he had strapped to his wrist. "This isn't the first time this has happened." He said. Bunny sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that everything would be alright.

"What happened next?" Sonic asked. "Everyone was yelling and crying. I kept yelling 'Let me out!' But they just ignored me. Just before we were about to be..." She trailed off. "Roboticized?" Tails asked. She nodded her head. "Yeah. That's it. We were being held in this massive room. Those Swat-Bot's guarding the doors. There must've been 200 people in there. Everyone was pushing and shoving, trying to get the doors open. Then, this voice started talking." She stopped to look at her wounds that Tails had healed. "A hundred actually." Tails said, making some finishing touches with the Medi-Bot. "That should do it." He said, swithcing off the bot and putting it back in his pack. "Thanks." She said with a smile and Tails nodded.

"So what did it say, hon?" Bunny asked. "I don't really remember. He gave a speech, then when I woke up, you guys were helping everone get out." She said. "More than likely, everyone that didn't do what Robotnik wanted were tazed until they passed out so they couldn't refuse. Standard Roboticizing procedure. We're just lucky we got here in time." Tails said.

It wasn't the dream itself that bothered him. It was the look in her eyes. The _fear. _He had seen that same fear one more time after that; the day he had hit Sally. He shook it off as best he could, got up and grabbed his dirty clothes and took them into the bathroom. He filled the tub up and began to hand wash his clothes. He had to do something,_ anything_ to try to take his mind off of her eyes. It worked. Focusing his attention on one task had been a welcome distraction. The more time he spent washing, the more he began to forget about that dream and the eyes. "Who says you need a washing machine." He said as he finished and wrung them out; hanging them on the shower curtain rod that stretched across from one wall to the other.

Two days later

Sonic finally got vision of the woman from his dream as best he could and started his day. He got up that morning and had opened the last can of Spam©. He was getting low on food and he was beginning to worry. He hadn't come up with a single idea or plan on how to get money and it was driving him crazy. Usually, he didn't have any trouble coming up with an idea when he needed to, but for some reason he couldn't. Now he was down to a couple cans of tuna, six cans of potted meat and four cans of Vienna Sausages© and a few slices of bread. Even if he stretched it, it wouldn't last for two weeks like he thought at first. He'd be lucky if he could stretch it the rest of the week.

He opened the back door and stepped outside. The backyard was small, but big enough he had enough space to walk around. He lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky. The sun hadn't made it up far enough to shine where he was so he could look all he wanted without having to squint his eyes. The slight breeze felt good and it was unseasonably cool as the TV said it would. He didn't even bother to try to think of another plan. He had exausted every option he came up with and decided to drop it, hoping something would come to him soon. Blue lay on the grass; just staring out into space for a while and he felt his hands start to shake slightly and his head begin to throb. "That took long enough." He said, getting up and walking back inside the house. The withdrawals had begun. It took them a day longer than usual, but he didn't complain. He sat down on the couch, and waited for it to get to the point where he couldn't stand it any longer, then he would take the shot.

He knew that was the best plan. Wait as long as he could, then take the shot. Time dragged on, minute by minute; hour after hour and everything slowly began to intinsify. Shaking, chills, headache. He knew there wasn't much time left until he gave in, so he went into the bedroom and grabbed the syringe. He preped himself and he did the deed like he always did. After the burning finally stopped, he took the needle and bent it so no one could use it again, capped it, then buried it in a shallow hole in the backyard. The sun had almost set and he reached over and turned the kitchen light on and closed the back door and locked it. He looked around and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I need to fire the maid." He said, running a finger across the counter. He looked at the dust on his finger and wiped it on his pants. "I need to get out of here for a few hours. Oh, Bastion, can you ready the limo? I think I'm going to swing by the mall." He called out in the darkness. "What's that?" He asked, walking into the living room. "It's in the shop? Ok, what about the yacht? Oh that's right, it's being cleaned and won't be ready til next week." He said, laughing and sitting down on the couch. _If someone walked in here right now, they might think I've lost my mind. _He thought. Maybe he was.

At least talking to the dark eased his mind a little. The same routine every day began to get to him. He wasn't the type he could just sit around the house doing the same thing every single day like he had been for the past seven months. Ever since he had lived with Scourge it was the same thing every day. Get up, eat, watch TV, eat again, watch more TV, eat, smoke some dope then sleep, and it was the same thing with Judge. He figured if he got out on his own it would give him time to himself to work out his problems. The problem was that it worked too well. "Ah, fuck it." Sonic mumbled as he turned the TV of and headed off to bed. After he made a stop at the bathroom, he stripped down to nothing, opened the window and climbed in bed. It was a little warmer than it had been the night before, but still relatively cool, so he didn't bother covering up with the blanket.

He stretched out as far as he could and relaxed, letting his arms and legs fall limp to the matress. He let his mind go blank, trying to fall asleep, but he couldn't shut it off completely. Sonic thought about whatever floated through, eventually falling asleep.

The Next Morning

Sonic woke up and began his usual morning routine. Bathroom, breakfast, TV. Today though, he decided he was going to actually _do_ something instead of just sitting around trying to think of a way to make money. He put away the clothes he had washed the other day now that they were dry. "Really need to fire that maid." He laughed, then sat on the bed and began putting his clothes on. Once he did that, he locked the house up and started walking. towards the downtown area. _One way or another, I'm gonna get some money today!_ He thought. Sonic had a good feeling about this day. It was one of those days where the sun shined brighter, the grass was greener and the birds sang a little louder. Of course, that might have been the heroin making him feel that way.

It was still early, around seven he guessed. He figured he could stay out until four or five at the latest, and if nothing panned out, he at least had an excuse of getting out for a while.

After an hour of walking, Sonic made it to downtown Metropolis. He looked around and his hopes of finding work began to fade. Most of the stores and buisneses were closed down, and there weren't very many people out walking. "I'll be damned. This place has people living in it" He said. There weren't that many people out walking, but now he knew there _were_ people in Metropolis. There were a few cars parked here and there and traffic was almost non-existant, but otherwise it was quiet. Sonic decided to hit every store and shop that was open. The first store he tried his luck at, a clothing store, flat out told him no. He thanked them and headed toward the next one. After that, he headed for a small cafe across the street. No luck there, either. He thanked them and pressed on.

He spent the better part of three hours asking around at every buisness that was still open. Sonic was surprised at the number of places that were still open in Metropolis. It seemed like there were more than there actually were, but that was because they were scattered around downtown. One street would have five or six; the next would only have a couple; and another, all of them would be closed down. Since they were broken up and scattered around, it took him longer than expected. It was around noon and it was begining to get warm. Sonic wiped the sweat off his forehead and headed over to a park to take a break. It wasn't hot out by any means. He guessed it was in the 70's, but the sun made it feel like it was in the lower 90's to him.

The park wasn't very big, but it was nice considering the rest of Metropolis; it was like stumbling onto an oasis in the desert. The grass was green and well kept. The playground equipment was well maintained. It was just a couple of slides and swings, jungle gym and a sand pit, but enough to keep kids busy. Even the barbeque grills were pretty well maintained for a public place. _Even the parks in Knothole aren't this nice. _He thought. For a city that looked dead 90% of the time, this place was paradise. "Maybe this is the only escape these people have around here." He said. Sonic took a drink from a water fountain. The taste of chlorine was as strong here as it had been at Scourge's house, but he didn't care. It was wet and it got the job done. "At least it's cool." He said, wiping his mouth and sitting down at one of the benches.

He leaned back against the table and took a deep breath, the fresh air clearing his head. The only thing left for him to do now was to head back home, but he wasn't ready quite yet. Being outside was doing him a world of good. Out here, he wasn't limited to just watch TV or find something to occupy his time. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him. Since there were no people around or traffic at the moment, he could hear the birds singing clearly. There was a slight breeze and Sonic could hear it blowing through the trees, the rustling leaves bringing back memories of his time he spent outdoors those long years ago when he would be out on his daily rounds.

Sonic noticed, across the street in an alley, a woman walking back out on the sidewalk, quickly shoving something inside her pocket before she left the alley. He wouldn't have paid much attention to her if he didn't see a guy following behind her a few seconds later, thanking her and quickly heading the opposide direction she was going. "Doesn't anyone get a motel room anymore? Well, I guess around here they don't have to worry about cops very much." He said. He knew there was a police force in Metropolis; he remembered hearing the sirens on night when he was living with Scourge. As soon as the guy was out of sight, the woman looked around and pulled a handfull of something out of her pocket.

Sonic knew it was a wad of cash. "She's been pretty busy today." He said as he continued watching her. She stood still for a good twenty seconds, counting and counting. Sonic bit his lip and the thought of running over there and grabbing a handful crossed his mind, but robbery wasn't exactly one of his strong point's. "How much _does_ she have?" Sonic asked, watching her count. Every time she counted a bill out, her head bobbed slightly and when she counted five of them, Sonic saw her mouth the word 'One'. Followed by 'Two', 'Three' and so on and so on. When she got up to 'Eight', she stuffed everything back into her pocket and continued walking down the road.

"Can I have some of that?" Sonic asked out loud, but not enough where she could hear him. He laughed and stood up. It was getting late and he figured if he took off now, he might make it back just before dark. He left the park and started the long walk back to the house. _Let's see,_ He thought. _I didn't get anything accomplished, I feel like I've walked ten miles and I got to see a guy pay for sex. Yeah... Well at least I got out of the house for a while. _He thought as he continued home.

The sun was was just starting to set as he finally made it to the house. He walked around to the back and opened the door. Sonic flicked on the kitchen light and shut the door behind him. "Oh, Bastion, can you draw me a bath?" He asked his new invisible butler. "Ignoring me, huh? Ok, that's fine. Don't expect me to pay you this week." Sonic said as he turned the TV on and looked through the cabinet for something to eat. The picking's were beginning to get slim. He was down to a half loaf of bread, one can of tuna, two small can's of Vienna Sausages and two cans of potted meat. "Shit." He said, grabbing the can of tuna and making a sandwich. He sat down for his nightly routine of a sandwich and TV. He finished his dinner, which barely fit the definition of the word, and watched TV. It was saturday and there wasn't anything that he enjoyed watching. He flipped through channels for several minutes, then he gave up and switched it to the next channel that picked up a signal.

He put his arm up on the arm of the couch and put his head in his hand. He wasn't even paying attention to the TV now; it was just there for background noise. He thought back to the hooker he saw earlier that day. How she had counted out all that money. _Maybe I should do that._ He thought, then started laughing. "Yeah, right." He said, reaching over and turning off the TV. He turned off the kitchen light as well and went into the bathroom. He did his thing and reached down under the sink for a roll, and grabbed the last one. "Everyting's getting low. Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to start sacrificing socks." He said, flushing and washing his hands the best he could without any soap.

He went into the bedroom opened the window and stripped down. The wind blowing through the window was colder than it had been the other night. He crawled into bed and covered up. "Hooo." He cried out. He hadn't had a shower or a bath since the day he had "moved in" and the blanket had begun getting ripe. It wasn't from the fact he didn't _want_ to shower, he just had a problem taking cold showers. As for the blanket, he would just have to suffer with it for the night. Sonic closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning:

Sonic woke up, saw that it was morning and immediately shut his eyes. He laid there for a while when he thought, _If you don't get up, you're gonna piss on yourself. _Sonic let out a sigh. "Fine. You win." He said, dragging his butt out of bed and to the bathroom. He looked at the shower and knew he had to have one. _Just do it and get it over with. _He thought. He turned on the water and jumped in. "Fuck!" Sonic yelled as the water hit him. He gritted his teeth and stayed in long enough to give himself a good once over. He stepped out and dried off as best he could with one of his dirty shirts, then went back to the bedroom and put on a change of clothes. A red shirt, blue denim pants and a change of socks.

After he had changed clothes, he went and turned on the TV long enough to check the time and then turned it off. "Okay. 9:04. That should be plenty of time." He said, grabbing his wallet and walking out the back door. "Damn it feel's good out here." He said walking down the sidewalk. The air was crisp and cooler than it had been the last time he went out. Sonic made up his mind that he wasn't going to waste the day at the house where he would just be cooped up. He decided to get out again. Hell, it did him a world of good last time, even though he hadn't really accomplished anything.

As he walked, he was just looking around, taking everything in, when something in the gutter caught his eye. He looked down and saw a wrinkled up piece of paper lying next to a small stream of water that was flowing towards the flood grate. At first he ignored it, but the color was what caught his attention. "Is that..." He trailed off as he reached down to pick it up. He brought it close enough to see it well and unfolded it. "Well I'll be damned!" He exclaimed. He had found a five dollar bill. It might as well been a million dollars. He stuffed the red note in his pocket and made his way to the park, a slight bounce in his step.

Once he had gotten to the park, he sat down at the exact same bench he had the other day and looked around, taking everything in. This time, there were even a few people in the park. All women playing with their children, or talking amongst themselves, just out to have some fun or blow off some steam complaining about whatever was going on. He smiled and relaxed. _Now if I could only solve that damn problem._ He thought that being outside might spur him to have a revelation or something to that extent. The wind blew through his hair and he watched the kids at play in the distance. It was _relaxing. _Then the sound of his stomach broke the calm, *Rrrrrrrrrrr*.

Sonic rubbed a hand over his stomach. "Okay. Let's see if I can find something for you." He said. Now that he had a little money, he might be able to find something more filling than just the cans of so-called 'Sausages'. He walked around for a little while until he found the cafe he passed by when he was out the other day. He walked in and saw a sign that said, 'Please wait to be seated'. The inside was pretty clean and empty except for a couple having a morning cup of coffee. A minute later, the waitress walked over to the booth that he was standing at. "Hey, hon. This way." She said, flashing him a grin and motioning for Sonic to follow her. He did and he sat down at the table she took him to and handed him a menu. "My name's Sarah. What do you want to drink?" She asked. "Water." He said. _God I would fucking kill for a cup of coffee right now. _He thought, but didn't know how much it cost. "I'll give you a minute to decide." She said, setting the glass of water down on the table and disappearing to the back. Sonic took a sip of the water, and was surprised it didn't taste like chlorine. He downed the rest of it quickly and let out a quiet burp. _Wonder if they'd let me take a few gallons of this back home. Or maybe her._ He thought. It'd been a long time since he had a good drink of water, or a good woman.

The waitress wasn't bad looking. He figured she was somewhere in her mid 20's. Attractive face, full lips, her hair a bright red, a body that looked like it had been made in a mold. Just his type. Sonic opened the menu and looked it over. The stuff he really wanted were way out of his price range. Just looking at the pictures gave him a food boner (Real quick, I don't know if the word 'food boner' actually exists. But if it doesn't, I'm claiming it. Back to it then.). Oh, it looked so damn good. Steaks, burger's, omlettes, sandwiches. Sonic's mouth was watering like the floodgates had been opened, but his only option was the value menu. Since it wasn't very expensive, there wasn't much of a choice. He went with the #2: Two eggs, toast and three pork sausage links for $4.59. _Not bad for five bucks. _He thought as Sarah came back.

"You ready, hon?" She asked. Sonic wasn't able to speak for a few moments, he tried to keep eye contact with her, but his eyes kept darting down to her breasts, but he managed to not make it noticable He told her what he wanted and she scribbled it down on her notepad. "How you want the eggs?" She asked. "Scrambled." He said. "Okay. You want some more water?" She asked. He nodded and she took the glass of the table. "Okay. It'll be a few minutes." She said. Sonic watched her walk behind the counter, his eyes locked on her butt, which wasn't bad looking to him. He grinned and she came back with his water. "There you go." She said, setting the glass back down in front of him. "Thanks." He said, grabbing the glass and taking a small sip. Sonic watched her go behind the counter again and he waited for his food.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a clock on the wall. It was 10:02. He had only been out of the house for a few hours and already he had more fun in two hours than he had the last three days combined. Sonic looked over to where Sarah was standing behind the counter. She was looking at one of the newspapers that were in the stand next to the register, waiting for his order to come up. He watched her from the corner of his eye. It was quiet, except for the occasional sound coming from the kitchen; naturally, boredom began to set in. His mind began to wander and went behind the red door. He saw Sarah in his mind, walking out from behind the counter in her light blue shirt and dress. Then, instead of handing him his plate, she tossed it behind her shoulder, grabbed Sonic and laid him on the ground. "Wha-" He stammered, caught off guard by the sudden action as she began ripping off his shirt and running her hands through the fur on his chest. "Take me." She moaned breathlessly as she frenched him hard.

Sonic pushed back and began running his hands up and down her shirt, and fiddling with the buttons. She moaned and they broke apart as she pulled herself off of him and crawled down and started unbuttoning his pants, grabbing them and tossing them on the ground next to her. She looked down at the lump in his pants and her eyes grew wide and her grin wider. "Oooohhhhhh. Does it hurt?" She asked coyly. "Yeah." He said. "Do you think you might be able to... make it better?" He asked, putting his hands behind his head. "Mm-mmm." She moaned.

Her head began going lower and lower and Sonic watched the spectacle unfold before him. But just as she was about to engage, she stopped and looked him in the eye. *Hee Hee* "Your food's ready." She said. "Wha- wha- what?" Sonic asked, snapping back to reality. He looked up and saw her standing next to him setting the plate in front of him. "You're breakfast's ready." She said. "You Ok?" She asked. Sonic turned toward the window, looking around randomly as if he'd seen something out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah. I-I'm fine." He said, trying to calm himself down enough so he could look at her. "Thanks Sarah."

She stood there for a few seconds, then spoke. "No problem." She said, gave him a quick 'What the- oh well' look and set the check on the table and walked back behind the counter. _Dirty boy._ He scolded himself. _I'm surprised she didn't know what you were thinking by the look on her face._ He thought; Sonic picked up the fork and took a bite of egg. "Oh, that's good." He said out loud and took two more quick bites. _Sure beats fucking Spam© sandwiches. _He thought, grabbing one of the small boxes of jelly, opening it and spreading it on the toast. He finished the toast in three bites and each of the sausages in two bites each. He turned his attention back to the eggs, devoured them and pushed the plate to the edge of the table. Sonic finished off the glass of water and leaned back in the chair, his belly full for the first time in a _long_ time. Sarah walked over and picked up the plate. "So how was it?" She asked, giving him a smile. Sonic grinned and looked up at her. "THAT, was the best meal I've had in a while." He said, laying a hand on his stomach and rubbing it contently.

"Glad you liked it. Just bring the check up to the register when you're ready to pay." She said, and took the plate and glass behind the counter and dropped them in a bin. Sonic felt like he was ready to bust. There was a time when he could down eight Chilidogs, the food he just had and a large soda and still have room. Now, he could barely make it through one plate. But it didn't bother him too bad. _That's what happens when you only eat once a day._

_Sonic picked up the check and turned it over. It listed everything that he ate and at the bottom, he saw the price said '$4.89' and right underneath was scribbled "Thanks for coming, Sarah." "Perfect". He said. Once his meal had settled down enough, he grabbed the check and walked over to the register and pulled out his wallet. He gave her the five and she punched in his total and gave him his change. "Here you go. Thanks." She said, still giving him that welcoming smile. Sonic nodded and turned towards the door, but turned around. "Um... this is kind of embarrassing..." He trailed off, rubbing his hand on the back of his hand. "But I don't have enough to leave you a tip." He said. She flipped a hand at him. "Aw, don't worry about it." She said. _

_Sonic shook his head. "No, it's not right. When I get some more money, I'll come back and give it to you. I promise." He said. She laughed and shook her head. "Well if it'll make you feel better, but I'm telling you, you don't have to." Sonic opened the door and turned toward her before leaving. "No. I will. That's a promise, Sarah." He said, walking out. She waived through the window and he went back to the park to try to sort out the mess he was in. _


	16. Dirty Deeds

Dirty Deeds

Chapter 16

Has anyone seen those Norton's security ad's with Dolph Lungren and the Unicorn? I stumbled onto them a few weeks ago and laughed my ass off. Anyway, this one's rated M for strong language throughout, sexual content and drug use. Enjoy. Protect your Unicorn.

_I didn't think food could taste that good. _Sonic thought as he stepped foot back in the park. He looked around and saw the people that had been there before had already left. But what surprised him was the fact that there were more people outside than ther were when he went into the resturaunt. There were also a few cars going up and down the road as well. _I guess it just takes a while for people to get moving around here. _He thought as he walked over to a large oak tree and sat underneath it. He ploped himself under the massive shade of the tree, stretching his arms and legs as far as they would go, then put his hands behind his head and relaxed.

"Damn that feels good." He said. He was happier than he had been in a long time. It had been a great day. He had gotten out of the house on a gourgeous day, found some money, got to talk to a living person _and,_ he had a full stomach. Not bad considering what he had been going through.

Sonic looked up toward the sun to try to figure out the time. He guessed it was around two or so. _Maybe I should be getting back. _He thought. _I don't want that shit to start up out here._

How long had it been since his last fix? Three days? Four? He couldn't remember. The days had begun to run together, and sleep was getting harder to come by. But he thought it was because of all the stress he had been under. Sonic stood up, brushing the dust and dirt off his pants. "Come on." He grumbled as he managed to get most of it off; then he began the long walk back home.

The walk back was pretty uneventful. Other than the occasional barking dog and traffic off in the distance, there wasn't much going on. "Almost home." He said with a small smile. "Maybe now I-" He stopped mid sentence as a wave of nausea washed over him. *Mmmmmm!* He moaned as his pace slowed down. _What the..._ He thought. _That was-_ He stopped mid thought as another wave washed over him, this one more powerful than the last. Sonic stumbled a few steps and he quickly reached out for a chain link fence that went around the yard of an abandoned house.

His head was spinning and he leaned back against the fence, using it to prop himself up. He shut his eyes and waited for the nausea to pass. _Hold on. _He thought as it passed a few minutes later. Sonic opened his eyes and pulled himself away from the fence. Sonic stood still for a minute, unable to move. _I need to get home._ He thought, somehow managing to walk the final couple of blocks to his house.

Sonic walked around to the back of his house, still stunned a little over what had happened. _Maybe the food was bad. _He thought as he opened the door. "It was still good." He said as he walked in. Sonic took a step inside and suddenly, another wave hit him; this one even more powerful than the last. He almost doubled over but managed to grab hold of the counter next to the door. "Oh, fuck!" He moaned/yelled as he felt everything in his stomach begin to make it's way back up. Sonic bolted for the bathroom, managing to somehow get the door open without stopping; Sonic slid on his knees and stopped in front of the bowl as everything he had just ate came up.

The bulk of it came up first, followed by the obligatory minute of dry heaving that always accompanied it. Sonic grabbed a few sheets of TP and wiped his mouth off and dropped it in the bowl. "That was fun." He said, reaching up for the handle and flushing it. Sonic pulled himself up and sat on the bowl to catch his breath. "I'm surprised my shoes didn't come up too." He said. Sonic stood up and took a step toward the sink to get a drink of water to wash his mouth out when he felt the need to throw up again. "Aga-" He started to speak, but stopped as another round began again. Nothing came up at first, which gave him just enough time to get back in front of the bowl, but the second his knees hit the gorund, he puked again. _There's more? _He thought as another round began again. This time though, it was a lot different.

This time, it didn't feel like norman vomit coming up. This was sour and it burned his throat as it came up. Sonic managed to open his eyes enough to see what was coming out. It was a brownish liquid and the smell was god-awful. _Is that- _He didn't even finish the thought as he hurled again and again, eventually dry heaving several more times until his body felt like had been drained of every ounce of liquid. Sonic stayed in front of the bowl for a good ten minutes to make sure it wasn't going to start up again. Once he was sure, he pulled himself off the ground and sat on the seat of the toilet to gather himself.

He knew that the last of it had been the acid in his stomach. Sonic groaned as he felt heartburn began to set in. He turned his head and spit what little acid was in his mouth into the empty bathtub and stood up, walking over to the sink and taking a few long drinks of water to rinse his mouth out as well as try to wash away some of the acid that was in his throat. It worked a little and he walked out of the bathroom, still feeling a little uneasy. "If that ever happens it'll be too soon." He said, sitting down on the couch and turning the TV on.

Sonic pulled the volume knob out and the screen lit up, then went black. "What the hell?" Sonic wondered as he pushed the knob in and pulled it out again. Nothing. He did it a couple more times with the same result every time. "Oh you're fucking with me? Aren't you?" He asked. Of course, the TV being an inanimate object, didn't say a thing. Sonic got up and grabbed the flashlight out of his room. He went back to the set, flicked the light on and shined it inside. "Come on. Talk to me." He said, looking around. He couldn't see anything through the tiny air slits in the back and gave up, setting the light next to the TV..

"Fucking perfect." He grumbled. It was getting dark and without the TV for light, the only light source that was left was in the kitchen. Sonic went over and turned it on and it cast a weak light in the kitchen and into the living room. It wasn't bright but at least he could see. Sonic stood in the doorway between the kitchen and living room and looked around. Without the TV, there was absoultely nothing for him to do, other than sit and stare at the walls, sleep or jerk off.

Since he wasn't tired, or in the mood to get busy with himself, he decided to just sit and stare. He sat back down on the couch in his groove and stared a hole in the TV. _Maybe I should take a look at it._ Sonic thought, but he didn't have anything to open it up. Plus he didn't know much about TV repair. So, Sonic laid his head on the back of the couch instead, staring up at the ceiling. Now that he had no TV, he knew he'd be doing a lot of thinking. Sonic decided to revisit some of his plans to get some money. The fact that he hadn't had any withdrawals by yet was beginning to worry him.

Now that there were no distractions, the process began to get a little easier; not to mention the food he had eaten earlier in the day had managed to stay down long enough for him to retain some of the nutrients. Of course, it didn't help much. He managed to only come up with one other idea, but it didn't pan out. He didn't have any lighter fluid. He went for several minutes without a thought, then started laughing. "Maybe I should just start whoring myself." He said, yawning. "Yeah right." He said, laughing it off. "I think it's time for bed." He said, getting up, turning off the light and slowly making his way into the bedroom. He pulled off his clothes, minus his boxers and laid his shirt and pants on the floor close by so he could get them in the morning. *Whew* "Damn it's warm in here tonight." He said, going over to the window and opening it. The cool breeze blew in through the open window and he smiled as it offered a little relief. "I don't get it. It's almost November and it's still this warm outside? Maybe it's just me." He said as he laid down on the bed.

Sonic grabbed the duffel bag and put it behind his head. There was pretty empty and he folded his arms and put them behind his head to give it more leverage. "There we go." He said as he finally got comfortable. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but that off-hand comment he made earlier kept gnawing at the back of his mind. _'Maybe I should start whoring myself.' _Eventually though, nature took over and he fell asleep.

Sonic woke up and he bolted upright in bed. He was sweating and shaking profusely and his vision was blurry. A fever ran through his entire body and his arms were numb and there was a massive, throbbing ache in the back of his head. "Oh fuck!" Sonic moaned, clutching the back of his head. He wiped the sweat from his forehead to keep it from getting in his eyes. He looked around, unsure of where he was at first, then he remembered he was in his room.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand up, but his legs felt like jelly. They shook under his weight and he fell back down on the bed. "Wha...?" Sonic wondered. "Aaaaahhhhhh!" Sonic yelled suddenly as the throbbing in his head swelled suddenly. He tilted his head down and blew a deep breath down his chest to try to cool himself off. The air hit him and it felt cold, but welcoming. The fever was intense, unlike nothing he'd ever felt before and he was having trouble concentrating. _My left side's not numb so it's not a stroke._ _Withdrawals must've set in during the night._ He thought through a brief moment of clarity. He turned his head and looked at the mattress where he'd been laying. Every place that his body had come into contact with the mattress was sopping wet with sweat. Even the pillow. _Shit! I feel like I'm on fire._

_The... tub. _Sonic thought. _If I can get in there, it should lower my temperature._ He tried to stand up again, but his legs weren't having any of it. "Come on... dammit." He muttered under his breath. He gave himself a big push and he collapsed to the floor, hitting it with a hard thud. Sonic managed to get on his hands and knees and slowly began crawling toward the door. The fever was getting worse, and now it felt like he was being jabbed with needles all over. Beads of sweat were _dripping_ from his head, like a faucet with a slow drip. His vision was still slightly blurry and it took every ounce of energy he had just to move. "Come on you bastard!" He yelled, trying to motivate himself to move.

He didn't want to and just wanted to collapse where he was, but he didn't want to find out what might happen if he did. Sonic managed to crawl to the door, but it was shut. "Shit!" He yelled through the pain. Sonic reached up and grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, but he didn't have enough strength to turn it. He was breathing heavily now, every bit of exertion he placed on himself zapping him of precious strength. "Okay. Just... get into... the tub... and you... can rest." He said panting and gasping like he had just ran a marathon. He reached up and griped the doorknob as hard as he could and with all his strength, turned it. It went all the way to the right, but it stopped. *Mmmmmmmm* He growled. "Oh just open you son of a bitch!" He said through clenched teeth. Digging deep down, he managed to pull out one last burst of energy and somehow managed to get it open. The door released it's grip and it swung open from his weight toward him, hitting him in the head in the process.

"Ow!" He moaned as the door bopped the side of his face. He ignored it, took a deep breath and continued to crawl toward the bathroom. The numbness in his arms had began to subside slightly, and he didn't feel like he was crawling over needles anymore. _Thank God for small favors._ He thought as he continued on through the pain. His head throbbed with every move he made, but he ignored it and kept on moving. He finally managed to make it to the bathroom door after a minute of crawling slowly on his hands and knees. "About time... something... goes right." He said. Luck finally shone on him. The bathroom door was open and he slowly made his way inside.

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as he went through the door. The air in the room was cooler than the rest of the house, something that was a welcoming feeling. He crawled the final few feet to the tub and pulled himself up on the side and took a well deserved rest. His breathing was labored and heavy and sweat was almost pouring off of him. It had begun to pool up on the floor underneath him. Sonic wiped the sweat out of his eyes and reached over and turned the water on.

The pipes rattled as the water coursed through them, and once the air had been forced through, the water began flowing. "Yeah, yeah. Shut up." Sonic said. The headache hadn't swelled or shown any sign's of worsening; it even felt like it had began to subside. But, unlike his headache, the fever was completely opposite. It still burned with the same intensity it had been when he had woken up. The sweating began to stop as well, which worried him. It meant one of two possibillities. One, his body was cooling down from the temperature in the bathroom, or two; he was starting to get dehydrated.

Sonic grabbed the drain plug and shoved it into the drain and the water began to rise slowly. His mouth felt dry and he stuck his hand under the running water and took a few good swallows. Even though it wasn't much, it felt like a river running through his mouth and he took a few more. "Oh... that's good." He said and took a couple more. Once the tub had filled halfway, he shut the water off and got up to his knees. "Ok. Up and over."

The water was cold and he knew the shock would be intense, but he didn't care. He felt like he was going to burst into flames at any moment. He gripped the side of the tub and hauled himself over the side, not even bothering to strip down. He tumbled over the side, banging his ankle on the spout on the way in. "Ooooooh!" He yelped as the freezing water made contact with his burning skin and after the initial shock passed, the fever began to release it's hold on him.

"Oh God that's good." He said quietly as the fever slowly began dissipating from inside of him. After a few minutes, his headache began to improve as well, although it didn't go away completely. _Withdrawals are starting to get worse though.. _He thought as he slowly began to collect his thoughts. After a while, the fever had completely dissapeared and he stood up and stepped out of the tub. The numbness had vanished and his headache had all but dissapeared. Feeling better and after waiting to make sure he wasn't going to get worse, he reached down and pulled the plug and the tub began draining.

"That's better. Now if only that would keep this shit from coming back." Sonic said as he pulled off the soaked pair of boxers and wrung them out over the tub, hanging them over the shower rod to drip dry. Now that he felt like himself again, for however long that was going to be, he turned his attention back to his money problem.

In the back of his mind, he had already come up with a solution that would work. The only problem was, he was having trouble accepting it. Sonic walked into the bedroom and grabbed a shirt out of the bag and began drying off as best he could, while at the same time, struggling with the idea in his mind. _There's got to be another way. You know there is. _He thought as he finished drying off. He laid the wet shirt on top of the bag and laid down on the bed. "What would Tails say?" He asked.

Tails had been more than a friend to him over the years. He had held multiple roles in his life. Friend, confidant, advisor, brother. The list could go on and on. When he had a problem he couldn't solve, like the one he had in front of him, Tails usually had an answer for him. But unfortunately for Sonic, Tails wasn't around.

Sonic knew if the withdrawals continued like they did, the chances of him dying were very real. And dying was something he wanted to avoid for as long as possible. "Fuck! I didn't want..." He trailed off as he began to weep softly. He held his head in his hands and cried. Not like he did on the couch when he lost control of his emotions, but he did cry; although most of the water in his body had been lost in the gallon of sweat that poured out of him earlier. He wiped what little was around his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that in this town, it was the only way to make a living. Sonic got up and grabbed a clean set of clothes out of the dresser along with his gloves and tossed them on the bed.

_Can't believe I'm actually fucking thinking of doing this, much less entertaining it. But I'll be damned if I'm just going to sit around here and waste away._ He thought, putting on a fresh pair of boxers and grey shorts. _And that nice long stretch without anything to eat was fun. Sure, I got to eat yesterday, but how long would I last? It's not like you're going to find money lying in the gutter's every day._ Sonic reached over and grabbed his shirt and threw it on. _I think taking one in the mouth to avoid starving to death is a pretty good exchange; and if you don't, you might as well grab a knife and slit your throat, cause that's what you'll be doing. Killing yourself. _The prostitution idea had come to him once before, but the last round of withdrawals he had just went through had scared him enough to realize it was either do something now, or just go ahead and die.

Sonic put on the socks he grabbed from the dresser and his shoes and stood up, still talking himself into actually going through with it. "So I really don't have a choice, do I?" He asked, sticking the pair of gloves into his pocket. "Fuck." He said flatly, grabbing his wallet and sticking it in his back pocket. Sonic headed out the back door and headed for the only place he knew where hookers hung out at, the park. Sonic knew there were a couple of ways to go about it. The old standby, "You looking for a good time?" or one of the variations of the question, hanging around a public bathroom, which the only one he knew that existed around here was the park.

As Sonic got closer to the park, he had to fight the urge to flee. The little voice in his head telling him to run and go back home. But he knew better. The sun was beginning to set, which meant that it would be easier to go about everything. He walked across the street and started walking the perimiter of the park, looking for the right person. There wern't many walking around. Mostly bums looking for a handout.

He began walking around the park slowly. Sonic knew very little about prostitutes or how they operated. Most of what he knew came from various TV shows or movies. Even then, they were all about women and there was very little about the way men went about it. _Okay, how the hell am I going to go about this? The only thing I know about this is that there was something about signals and it all goes down in a public bathroom. _Sonic stopped and leaned against a lampost and glanced over at the park bathroom.

_I don't know, cops love to do stings on places like this. Of course, there hasn't been a cop around here... well, I don't think there are any cops. Maybe they just wait until someone calls 911, then they come in. _Sonic shook his head. _Okay. Now you're just wasting time. Just do it so you can get some money and get it over with. _Soniclet out a sigh and headed over to the bathroom.

Sonic walked around the wall that surrounded the door to prevent people from looking inside from the street and went inside. "Oh shit!" He yelped as the smell of stale urine wafted up to his nose. The first thing he noticed, besides the urine stench, was that there were paper towels scattered everywhere. The trash cans were overflowing and the paper was scattered everywhere; there were even paper towels stuffed into the drains in all the sinks. "Jesus, I hope that's just water." Sonic said, looking down at the floor. It was wet from corner to corner, although Sonic couldn't tell if it was water or urine. Or both. The single light above the three sinks didn't make things any better. Sonic took a few more steps in, his shoes making a faint 'squish' sound as he went deeper into the room of horrors.

_I guess if I'm gonna be doing something dirty, the room might as well be just as bad. _He thought. _But fuck, if it look's this bad out here, what're the stalls going to look like? _Sonic walked over to the first stall and opened it up. Sonic closed his eyes and prepared himself for the worst. _I hope my hobo stab insurance is paid up._ He thought. Sonic slowly opened the stall door and opened his eyes. "I'll be damned." He said. The stall was _actually_ cleaner than the rest of the bathroom. The floor was still wet, but the toilet was clean and not half full of shit and piss that had been there for God knows how long.

Even the seat, which usually was as wet as the floor, was dry. "Do they just clean the stalls and leave the rest of it, or what? Fucking ridiculous!" He said, locking the door behind him. On the wall on his right side, there was the TP dispenser, filled with two rolls, which surprised Sonic since he had never seen the dispenser filled or even attached to the wall. "I'll be damned." He said. Blue reached up and grabbed one of those paper seat covers and placed it on the seat and sat down. Sonic noticed the urine stench had disappeared. _Either I've gotten used to the smell, or this stall is immune to it. _Now it was just a matter of time.

Time. It was something he had an abundance of lately. Too much time. But it was what he had wished for. Time to think. Time to himself. Now that he had it, he wished he didn't. Time was his enemy now. How much time did he have until he needed another shot? How long would it be until he would finally eat again? He didn't know. He had no clue. He didn't even know what day it was anymore. The last time he remembered what day it was without the need to look at a TV, he had been living with Scourge, and that was over six months ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Sonic had been sitting in the stall for more than ten minutes and he had been in the park for just over an hour as far as he could tell. He was also getting anxious, and that was something he had a hard time dealing with. The urge to get the hell out of there and run back home was tremendous. But he knew he had no choice. _Fuck! I want to go home. But... I can't. What happens if I get halfway there and that shit hits again? Yeah. I'd probably collapse on the sidewalk, burning up and stewing in my own juices. Hell, if I hadn't been home and been able to get into the water, God knows what would've happened. _Sonic could clearly recall what the fever felt like. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Like being in an oven, except it was under his skin.

_This way may not be the- oh who am I kidding? This is the WORST way to earn money! But at least I'd get enough to survive. Yeah, it's just a way to survive. That's all. That is if anyone ever- _*cough* Sonic stopped mid-thought and listened closely. _Was that..._ *cough* _Oh shit! Someone's coming! _Sonic tensed up and his heard began beating rapidly as the sound of footsteps echoed in the park bathroom. _Oh fuck! I don't want to do this!_ He thought as he watched a pair of feet cross in front of the stall and walk into the one next to his.

Blue could just picture it now. In a minute, two holes would open in the wall. In one hole would be a gun. And in the other, a huge floppy dick. He shuddered in thought as the only sound he would hear is of the man next to him, whom in his mind was six feet tall and would shoot at the first sign of trouble on Sonic's part, would just grunt and wave the gun at him as if to say, "Whaddaya waiting for? Get to work!"

Oh he could just see himself. It was just like an out of body experience. He could see himself in the stall, head bobbing up and down on the guy's knob, and the gun shaking more and more as the guy neared the point of no return. Then a few seconds later, one final, _**loud**_ moan as it abruptly ended. Then the gun and dick would retract through the hole and a single five dollar bill would be pushed through the hole. In his mind, Sonic watched himself take the five, then break down weeping.

But that didn't happen. Instead of the dick coming through the wall, through the space under the stall wall, he saw the guy's pants fall around his ankles, but his feet stayed on his side of the stall. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. _Oh thank you God_. _I don't think-_

Sonic stopped mid-thought as out of the corner of his eye, he saw a foot slide just under his side of the stall. _Oh fuck! _Sonic's mind began racing. _Where's the gun? _

The guy's foot tapped a couple of times, then stopped. _Oh, what the fuck do I do now?_ He thought. Once the signal had been given, he was lost after that. Sonic slid his foot under the stall and tapped it once in response, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably from nervousness. Sonic shut his eyes and braced himself. _Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck! _The words kept repeating in his mind over and over. He knew he had to say something, but he was too nervous. He took a couple of quick, deep breaths and said, "Whaddaya looking for?" Sonic's voice cracked slightly.

"Oh, I don't know really." The guy said. "How bout a Hand Job?' The guy asked as calmly as if he was placing an order at a restaurant. _God dammit! Well if I'm going to get paid for this, the least I can do is try to get as much as I can out of him. _Sonic thought. "S-sure. You got the cash?" Sonic asked. "Hold on." The guy replied. Sonic could hear the sound of shuffling in the next stall. "Is $30 ok?" The guy asked as a hand popped out from underneath the stall, waving a twenty and a ten. Sonic reached down and took the money.

"Sure." He said, taking the money. His hands were shaking so hard, he could barely manage to stuff it into his pocket. _Thirty bucks! Maybe I should've told him sixty. Nice going dumbass. _He thought. The sight of the cash snapped him back to reality for a few seconds, then he remembered what was going on. _Maybe I should run for it. _But he knew that wouldn't work. _Yeah._ _Maybe a year ago. _Sonic took a few deep breaths as he waited for it to begin. "You ready?" His 'client' asked. Sonic took one final breath. "Yeah." He said weakly. _Oh God, forgive me for what I'm about to- oh shit!_ Sonic almost jumped back as the small strip of toilet paper that hung out of the dispenser moved forward slightly, a small bump forming behind it. _You gotta be kiddin- there is a fucking hole in the wall! Wait a minute..._ Sonic thought as he reached into his pocket, hands still shaking and pulled out his gloves. _Thank God I remembered to grab these. Least I don't have to touch him. _

Sonic pulled the gloves on and carefully moved the strip of paper hanging out of the dispenser over to one side, revealing the guy's member. Sonic groaned and felt his stomach leap into his throat, but he knew there was no turning back now as he took one final breath, closed his eyes and began to go to work. Sonic moved his hand up and down his client's shaft and it began to respond in kind. Sonic could feel it getting harder and stiffer and he wished with every moment that passed he were somewhere else. Like getting needles shoved under his fingernails.

Sonic shut his eyes and pretended he was somewhere else at that moment. Like when he used to roam Green Hill or go exploring in Marble Ruins. A few minutes later, he heard his client moan, felt the stall wall shake slightly and he finished. Sonic stopped and moved his hand away with lightning speed as his client came, some of it shooting across and hitting the opposite wall. Sonic felt his stomach begin to lurch and twist and he felt like throwing up. The next thing he knew, he heard his client pull up his pants. "Thanks." He said and walked out of the stall next to him.

Sonic leaned against the stall door, stunned from what he had just done. _Did I... just... do that?_ He asked himself. But the only thing he could do was stare ahead at the wall. Every emotion he had been feeling up until this moment: Anxiety, worry, fear, depression, anger, regret, shock; it was all gone. The emotions he was feeling at that moment were so intense and hit him so suddenly, it was like the breaker switch in his head had been tripped and he went into auto pilot. Sonic opened the stall door and walked out and took off his gloves and tossed them on the mound of paper towels in one of the trash cans by the sink. One rolled down the hill of paper and landed on the floor. Sonic walked out of the park bathroom and began the walk back to his house.

He slowly wandered the dimly lit streets, turning one corner, then another. Eventually, he rounded the final corner of the street he lived on, if you could call his life 'living'. Slowly, he passed by empty house after empty house, until he came upon one that had the big heavy blanket with the sliver of light shining through the part at the top of the window; Dave's. Sonic opened the gate and walked up to the door and knocked.

The sounds of angry grumbling could be heard coming from inside the house. A few seconds later, the door opened a crack and, once Dave saw that it wasn't a threat or the cop's, he opened the door further. "Hey." Dave said. "Whaddaya need?" He asked. Sonic, without saying a word, reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty and handed it to Dave. "The usual." He said, his voice flat and much quieter than usual. At first, Dave wasn't sure what he said, then his brain picked up on it a few seconds later. "O-okay." Dave said, taking the twenty. He hesitated for a second, then shut the door. A minute later, Dave opened the door and handed Sonic a syringe. "You OK?" Dave asked. _Oh, if you only knew!_ Sonic thought, but he didn't say that; he just gave Dave a slight nod and a wave of the hand, turned around and walked away.

Sonic threw the back door to his house open and turned on the light in the kitchen. It buzzed for a second then came to life, bathing the room in a soft glow. Blue took the syringe out of his pocket and tore the cap off with his teeth, spitting it into a far corner of the kitchen. He lifted his right arm up, and, locating a vein with no trouble, he plunged the needle in his arm. The sting from the needle hurt but the state he was in made pain non-existent. Sonic drew back on the plunger and upon seeing no blood, he pressed down and pulled the needle out and tossed it up on the counter. The drug coursed it's way through his system and he began to feel better. Everything that he had felt up until now, anxiety, worry, fear, depression, anger, regret, shock, all of it melted away and he snapped back into reality. Sonic smiled and rubbed the spot where he had stuck the needle in. "God, that was soooo worth it." He said.

Sonic reached over and flicked the light off and shut the door behind him, then he walked into the bedroom and began taking his clothes off for the night. _Was that so bad? _He thought, trying to reassure himself about what he did. _Really? Yeah, you had to do another guy, but fuck, at least you didn't have to blow him, right? _He thought, tossing his shirt on the dresser. _You got some cash out of it, which by the way, bought you that nice syringe, and, you'll be able to eat in the morning. Sure, you might have to do it for a while, but at least you'll be able to survive. Right? _Sonic asked himself as he grabbed his pants off the ground and tossed them up on the dresser as well.

"Yeah." He said as he walked over to the bed and sat down. "I did what I had to do." He said letting out a deep breath and laid down on the bed.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Okay guys and gals, I think I've taken this thing as far as I can. I don't know how many chapters this one has left in it, but I know it won't be more than six, and that's me being generous. This won't be the last chapter, but I think it's time to get to the end. Rated T for language and, what do you call it... sexual situations. Hope you enjoy it.

Two weeks later:

Sonic opened his eyes and sat up on the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, cursing under his breath. "Fuckin' shit." He mumbled and stood up, forcing himself walk to the bathroom. The past couple of weeks had been less than memorable. In fact, there were things he had done that would have broken a normal man. Then again, he was far from being a normal man. He had gone from giving hand jobs in a public bathroom, to giving blowjobs in a public bathroom. But at least he finally had something to celebrate. He had finally had managed to grow a large enough clientele, and tonight, he was moving his office out of the bathroom and into an actual building.

The biggest hang up he had to get over was the whole BJ thing. It was just like when he had given his first hand job in the park bathroom, but he realized that it was part of the job and managed to get over it. The upside to the whole thing was he was making more money now. And that meant more heroin to keep his withdrawals away. The time between episodes had begun to get shorter and he had went from only using to keep the withdrawals at bay, to using every other day. Now he had started to use almost every day.

Sonic reached over and flushed the toilet and went over to the mirror on the wall above the sink. He turned his arm over and checked it over. The injection sites were beginning to become red and inflamed; they were sore too. Sonic opened the mirror and reached into the medicine cabinet and grabbed a small tube of Neo-Sporin©. Sonic opened it and squeezed a small amount on his fingers. "Dammit." He said, every pass of his fingers making his arm yell out in pain.

"Fuck. Gonna have to find another place to inject. Arms are getting too sore." Once the spots on his arms had been treated, he put the tube back into the cabinet and shut it and went to put his clothes on. Sonic sat on the edge of the bed and looked over at the nightstand beside the bed. He had one needle left. One out of the four he had bought that week. Sonic had bought them on Monday and they were gone by Wednesday. Two days. That supply he had lasted him two days. 'It's okay. I'll just go out, get some more cash and get more. It'll be fine'. He told himself. He reached over and grabbed the last one and uncapped it. The light streaming through the window gleamed of the small, silver tip of the needle. "Let's see..." He said, trailing off, looking himself over for a new site.

"Arms are out of the question for a few weeks; Hard to find a vein on my legs, too much fur." Sonic considered going through his neck, but unless he could make a clone of himself, he wouldn't be able to find a vein there. He had heard stories that sometimes, in desperation, some people injected through the nuts, under their fingernails, the tongue and in extreme cases, their eyes; but he knew no matter how desperate he was, he wasn't going down any of those roads. Then he remembered that he could go between his toes if he found the right place. "Yeah. What the hell. It's gotta be better than going through my eyes." He pulled his foot up on his knee and took one last look at his arms. Most of the major veins had collapsed and the ones that were open weren't big enough to accommodate the size of the needle, so he turned to the only option left.

Sonic turned so he was facing the nightstand and put his leg up on it. He reached over and grabbed his big toe and pinched it between his thumb and forefinger, pulling it toward his body. He readied the needle just above the skin and took a deep breath. "This is going to hurt." He said, plunging the needle into his skin. "Aaaahhh! Fuck!" He groaned through clenched teeth. When he first started injecting himself in the arm, it hurt like it had just then. But the more he did it, the more he became used to the pain until he hardly noticed it. This spot however, was a different story. Sonic quickly pulled back on the plunger, looking for the tale-tale sign on blood in the syringe, and not finding any, pulled the needle out. "Fuck." He mumbled under his breath, rubbing the spot. But the pain didn't matter. The only thing that mattered now was that he got his medicine.

Sonic went to the next couple of toes and stuck the needle in; nothing. He went to the next couple; the same thing. Six tries later, he finally found a spot and injected the magical liquid in his system. "That's the stuff." He said, capping the needle and laying it back down on the nightstand next to the other one. Blue laid back down on the bed and waited for the sun to go down.

Later that day:

"Bout fucking time." Sonic said. Days passed by for him slowly. No TV meant he had nothing to do to pass the time. Now his time spent awake usually meant one of three ways to pass it. Sleep, stare at the walls or jack it. But now that the sun was going down, he could finally get out and go to work. Sonic went to his closet and grabbed his sweater. Since it had long sleeves, it would hide the spots on his arms until they healed; Sonic threw it on and straightened it out. He grabbed his wallet off the nightstand and went out of the house and headed over to his new 'office'.

The location he had chosen was killer. Three blocks from his house, which would only take him five minutes to get there and back. He had made the decision for a couple of reasons. One, it was closer. Two, it was in an abandoned house, which after managing to get a door open and making sure it wasn't gonna fall down or anything like that, it meant it was safer than doing it in the bathroom or an alley. An alley was a step up from a public bathroom, but most of them were already claimed by some of the ladies that worked that area of town and the last thing he needed was an angry hooker threatening to cut him. He also decided to change locations because the bathroom was beginning to feel cramped. Besides that, it was always dirty and the weather had gone from fall to winter. This way, he and whomever he was with were out of the weather.

Now he just had to wait for his first customer. Since his first encounter in the park bathroom, he had managed to grow a good, diverse clientele base. He didn't discriminate. He was doing it for the money. It didn't matter if they were gay, straight, bi, what have you. As long as they had money, it didn't matter to him. Unless they wanted to do something weird.

Once he had found a new spot, he began telling his regulars where he was going to be at from then on out. Sonic had told each one of them the same thing. "Just go to this address and knock on the back door quickly five times." It wasn't Morse code or something complicated, just easy enough for him to remember. Sonic thought about using a password or something of the like, but what other reason would someone have to knock on the door of an abandoned house at two in the morning. He didn't have to wait for long because his first customer had arrived. *Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap* Sonic went to the door, opened it and let the guy inside. " "So, what are you looking for?" Sonic asked.

"How bout a BJ?" The guy asked. Sonic nodded. "You got the cash?" Sonic asked. The guy reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet out. "The usual?" He asked. Sonic nodded. "Yup. Just because the place has changed doesn't mean the price has." He said, giving off a small laugh. The guy handed Sonic $50 and he counted it to make sure it was all there and when he found it was all there, blue put it in his pocket. "So how we gonna do this?" The guy asked. The question made Sonic laugh. "Okay..." He said, a smirk on his face. "You're gonna drop your pants then-"

"No, no, no." He said quickly, cutting Sonic off. "I mean, do I lay down or stand up or what?" He asked. Sonic nodded. "Oh, I thought you meant... never mind. Dealer's choice I guess." Sonic said. "Guess I'll stand." He said. Sonic nodded again and got on his knees in front of him. "Ooh." Sonic said, snapping his fingers a couple of times. "Can you let me know right before you're about to shoot?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." He said, nodding and unzipping his pants.

Less than five minutes later, the guy finished and zipped his pants up. "Thanks." He said, taking in a few deep breaths. Sonic nodded as he turned around and went out the door. Sonic stood up and stretched, knees popping. "Wish I had a couch or something in here.

That night, including the first client, he saw two more giving him a grand total of $150. That should last a day, two at the most. He could have just as easily went through another five, but he just didn't feel like it. _Just enough to last a couple of days._ He walked out of the house and headed over to the restaurant. Sonic opened the door, the familiar sound of a bell dinging just above him. _There she is. _Sonic said. Sarah was waiting on a couple so she didn't notice him walk in. There were a few people at a couple of the other tables, but like always, it was pretty much dead.

She finished talking to the couple and turned around. 'Hey' She mouthed at Sonic, then started walking over to him. "Morning hon. Haven't seen you in here in a while." She said, motioning for him to sit where ever he wanted. "I've been in here a lot. But I guess it was when you weren't working." He said, taking a seat at the counter. "So how you been?" He asked. Sonic had been wanting to get around to seeing her again, but he had only been making just enough to get some food and a shot; the latter taking precedence. He figured it was easier to get some cash and eat at the cafe, since he couldn't keep much at the house. If it weren't for the restaurant he'd be living mostly on Spam©.

"Pretty good. Can't complain. Unless you want to hear me complain." Sarah said. Sonic shook his head. "I guess I've been about the same." He said. They chatted for a few minutes then he put his order in and she handed it through the order window. "Look, I've got to take care of the rest of the tables, but when I'm done, we can talk a little more. OK?" She said. Sonic nodded and she walked around to the outside of the counter and Sonic quickly pulled his sleeves down so the marks on his arms weren't showing.

Sarah came back a couple of minutes later holding an armful of dirty plates and silverware and set it all in a giant metal sink behind the counter. "That takes care of that." Sarah said, leaning against the counter. Sonic turned and looked behind him. The entire restaurant was empty, except for him, Sarah and whoever was in the kitchen. "You know, I've never seen you in here during the day, except for early in the morning. You always have to work the nightshift?" He asked.

"Yeah. I like it better. You get the more interesting people on the night shift." She said, giving Sonic a little grin. "Really?" He asked. "Like who?" She leaned forward a little closer to him. "Well, you for one. I never thought I'd see someone like you come in here, let alone on the night shift. You've done a hell of a lot for everyone. I don't mean to pry, but what're you doing around these parts?" She asked.

Sonic sighed. "Well, let's just say that I found it so wonderful I decided to stay." He said. "Got stuck here and can't leave?" She said flatly. "Yeah." He replied. "Yup. That's the way it is for most everyone around here. Either they don't have the means to leave or something like that. I'm in the 'don't have the means' column." She said. "Order up." A voice called out from in the kitchen. Sarah spun around and grabbed the plate and set it in front of Sonic. "Thanks. Damn that looks good." He said grabbing a fork and digging in.

He finished his food and Sarah put the plate in the sink behind the counter. They talked for a while longer. "Yeah. Long story short; don't pour gasoline down a gopher hole to get rid of 'em." Sarah laughed and Sonic looked over at the window. The sun was starting to come up and he looked over at the clock. '5:32'. "Oh damn. I need to get home and get some sleep." He said standing up.

They walked over to the register and Sonic took out his wallet. "How much I owe you?" He asked. Sarah looked at the ticket she had written up. "$5.85" She said. Sonic took out a twenty and handed it to her. "Out of $20. $14.15." She said, handing him his change. Sonic folded it and went to put it in his wallet, but set it on the counter and slid it toward her. "Here you go." He said, taking his hand off the bills. "What's that for?" She asked.

Sonic laughed. "Did you forget already?" He asked. "I owed you a tip from the last time you waited on me. I would've done it sooner, but I didn't have the cash until now." Sarah looked at it and then looked at him again. "But it's fourteen bucks on a five-dollar ticket." She said. "Well, I added on what I owed." He said. She smiled and put it in her pocket. "Thanks." Sarah said, blushing. They talked a little more until the bell above the door rang. "Looks like I gotta get back to work." She said, picking up the tablet she used to jot down an order and put it in her apron. Sonic walked over to the door and turned back to her. "You gonna be working tomorrow morning?" He asked. She nodded. "Yeah." She replied. "Cool." Sonic said, and walked out.

Before he went home, he decided to swing by the mini-mart. "Eh, what the hell. Might find something I need." Sonic went up and down a few of the isles, looking for anything interesting or he thought might come in handy. He turned down one and saw something useful, a five pack of screwdrivers. _Maybe I can fix that damn TV. And if I can't, at least I'll have something to do._ He thought, picking them up. He looked around a little more, but other than a soda, didn't see much that he wanted.

Sonic paid for them and headed home. He was home in a few minutes and he let out a long, happy sigh. *Aaaaaaahhhhh* "Damn, I'm worn out." He said, standing in the kitchen, yawning. He walked into the living room and over to the TV and set the screwdriver set in front of it and walked into his bedroom. "At least I'll have something to do when I wake up." Sonic stripped down to his underwear, crawled into bed and went to sleep.

When he woke up, he looked out and saw the sun was still up, which made him happy. He figured he had gotten home around six or seven and he had woken up between five and six. He pulled the blankets back and got out of bed, went to the bathroom and started putting his clothes back on. He reached down and grabbed his shoes to put them on, when he looked over at the nightstand next to the bed. He saw his supply of medicine sitting there; three syringes, full and waiting for him to use. He thought about it, but decided against it. _Nah. Best not to. Besides, I did it yesterday. Don't need another one for a day, two at the most; I hope. _Sonic finished putting his shoes on and went out into the living room and over to the TV.

He reached down and unplugged the set from the wall and took it into the kitchen. The set was small and not very heavy so it was easy to manage. "Maybe it's the outlet." He said, setting it on the kitchen counter. He looked around for an outlet and saw one over by the sink. Even though he had only used the sink once, he made sure that there wasn't any water around the sink and plugged the set in. "Hope this works." He said, pulling out on the 'ON-Volume' knob. Nothing. "Kinda thought that wouldn't work." He said, taking the set back to where it was.

Sonic turned it around so the back was facing him and grabbed the screwdriver set. He sized up one of the screws and grabbed a screwdriver he thought might fit, stuck it in the hole and gave it a turn. The screwdriver stopped and he gave it a little more pressure and the screw began to come loose. He did the other six in the same fashion, setting them aside and pulled the back of the TV off. "Damn." Sonic said, getting his first real good look inside. It was a jumbled mess of wires and circuit boards. "This may take a while."

Sonic started to stick his hand inside, but quickly pulled it out. _Wait! There might still be juice flowing through it. _He didn't know much about electronics, but he had learned a bit from watching Tails mess around with his inventions. He knew that an electric charge in a device that used electricity could stay inside of it for a long time after it was unplugged. Since he had just unplugged the TV from the wall, he knew there was a good chance that there was juice in the wiring. He thought about using the screwdriver since it had a plastic handle, but he thought if there was any electricity still inside, it might arc from the metal and over to his hand.

_So how do-_ "Ah-ha!" He exclaimed, getting up off the couch and going into his bedroom. He opened up the closet and grabbed one of the metal hangers out of the closet and went back to the TV. _If I toss this on a wire, any juice left in the wiring should arc over to it. _He looked for any exposed wire and saw a little bit going into one of the circuit boards where the cord went into the back of the set. "There you are." He said, setting the end that he was holding in his hand on the table and the other end hanging above the exposed wire. "Okay. On three. One, two, three." He counted off, quickly moving his hand away and letting the hanger drop on the wire.

"Shit!" Sonic exclaimed, bolting up in bed. He looked around and saw that he wasn't working on the broken TV, but in bed. "What the...?" He mumbled. He realized that he had been dreaming and took a few deep breaths in and out to calm himself down. Sonic quickly put his clothes on to keep warm and went into the living room and looked over at the TV. "Should I take that as a sign?" Sonic asked the TV and went into the bathroom. He flicked on the light and it blew out, giving off a brief flash then darkness.

"Oh good." He said, slowly making his way over to the bowl. He stood in front of it, unzipped his pants and proceeded to go, letting the flow start slow until he heard the sound of him hitting water, then let it go full force. "Not as hard to pee in the dark as I thought it would be." He said, flushing and walking out. The TV repair dream he had made him think twice about doing that. "Well, fuck. That's out. Sarah's not working right now so that's out."

Sonic sat in the dark, the only light coming in through the spaces that the board on the window didn't cover. "God what I wouldn't give for some weed right now." He said, letting out a quick breath. _Wait... _Sonic got up and went into his room and grabbed his wallet and the only sweatshirt out of his closet and threw it on and headed out the door.

In a few minutes, he was knocking on Dave's front door. He waited a minute and knocked again. Nothing. Sonic knocked a third time. _C'mon, man. It's cold out here._ A minute later, Sonic heard the sounds of movement coming from inside the house and the familiar cursing that came with getting a knock on your front door at two in the morning. The noise got closer, then the sound of the locks on the door clicking and finally the door opened slightly. "Whaddaya want?" Dave asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Hey, sorry to wake you, but I was hoping I could get some weed." Sonic said. Dave opened the door and stared daggers at Sonic. "Fuck, what time is it?" Dave said, yawning at the same time. He glanced to his side and turned back to Sonic. "You wake me up at one thirty in the morning just for some weed? You better have a damn good reason." Dave said.

"My TV broke four days ago and the only way to pass the time is either stare at the walls or sleep." Sonic said flatly. Dave looked down for a second then back at Sonic. "Damn, that's a good excuse." He said, laughing. "C'mon in." Dave said, waiving him inside. "Have a seat." Dave said. Sonic went over to a recliner and sat down. _Oh, that's nice. Better than that crap couch I got. _"What're you looking for exactly?" Dave asked. "Weed?" Sonic said. "Something that'll get me baked but won't make me paranoid, y'know?" Dave nodded his head. "I got just what you need. Be right back." He said, disappearing through a doorway. He came back a minute later carrying a large, clear plastic box and set it on the coffee table in front of the couch. "That's some good stuff." Sonic said. He could smell it even though the lid was still on the box.

"Just wait 'til you see it." Dave said. He took the lid off and the smell grew even more intense. Sonic's eyes watered and the smell choked him a little. "Damn," Sonic said. "How many kinds you got in there?" Dave chuckled. "A lot." He said. The box was almost filled to the top with buds and all of it was wrapped in see-through plastic. "What kind were you looking for again?" Dave asked, shaking his head slightly. "Something that'll relax me. Not too strong, not too weak." Sonic said. "Gotcha." Dave said. He reached into the box and moved the baggies around, taking a few out and setting them to the side.

"No." Dave mumbled to himself quietly, digging deeper into the box. "Where are you?" He said out loud. By now, most of the baggies had been taken out and set on the table. "Looking for gold?" Sonic asked. "You could say that." Dave said, chuckling. "Ah! There you are." Dave said, picking up one of the baggies. He put the baggies that were scattered about back in the box and laid the lid on top of the box. "Didn't think I was gonna find this." Dave said, holding the baggie up in front of him.

"What kind is it?" Sonic asked. "Yukon Gold." Dave said. "Your basic strain. It gets the job done without any of the extreme effects that come with the stronger strands." He said. "So how much?" Sonic asked. "$30 an ounce." Dave said. "Give me two ounces and another syringe." Sonic said as he took his wallet out of his back pocket. "You got it." Dave said, putting the lid back on the box and picking it up. "Just give me a second." He said, taking the box and disappearing into a back room. He came back less than a minute later, carrying a needle in his hand.

He handed it to Sonic, and blue reached out and grabbed it. "How much?" Sonic asked. "$100 even." Dave said. Sonic opened his wallet and counted out the money and handed it to Dave and he handed Sonic the baggie of weed. "Hope you enjoy it." Dave said. Sonic laughed. "Oh, you know I will." Sonic said, sticking the baggie in his pocket.

"So what happened?" Dave asked. "With the TV?" Sonic said. Dave nodded. "Can't say I wasn't expecting it. It was one of the older models, you know. But all I did was reach over and turn it on; it threw sparks and started smoking, so I shut it off. Of course, it was black and white and looked about thirty years old, but it did the job. You wouldn't happen to have one you wanted to sell, would you?" Sonic asked.

"Does size matter?" Dave asked. Sonic's eyes grew twice their size. "You're serious?" He asked. Dave nodded. "I just asked that for the hell of it." Sonic said, giving a little chuckle. "But, no. All that matters is that it works." Sonic said. "Okay. Hold on a second." Dave said, going into the back.

"Will this work for you?" Dave asked, setting it down on the table in front of Sonic. "Does it still work?" Sonic asked. Dave nodded. "It should. Let me plug it in." He said, grabbing the cord and plugging it into the closest outlet. He pushed the power button and the TV came on and Dave shut it off; "Ok. How much you want for it?" Sonic asked. "Hmm... How much you have left?" He asked. Sonic pulled his wallet out again and thumbed through it. "Twenty enough?" He asked. "Yeah. Used to be the one I had in my room, but since I got a bigger one put in there, I haven't used this one since." Sonic smiled and took hold of it and looked it over.

It was a small 7' television, one that was used in the kitchen or if you really enjoyed TV, the bathroom. _Looks new. Nice TV. _Sonic turned it around so the back was facing him. _Nice! A/V jacks. Now all I have to do is find a DVD player and I'll be set. He should know where I could get one. _"You wouldn't know where I could get a DVD player would you?" Sonic asked. "Yeah, I do. You know where The Lunchbox is on third?" Dave asked. "Yeah." Sonic nodded. _I practically live there._ "Okay. Go past that until you hit fifth and make a left. It's...two or three stores down. You should be able to get one cheap there. That's where I got that big bastard over there." He said, pointing over at the TV in the corner. "Cost me close to $900 including the cable."

Sonic whistled. "Nice." They talked for a few more minutes until Sonic looked over at the clock. '2:48' "Okay, I'm gonna get out of here, might go get something to eat, I dunno." He said, standing up and grabbing the TV off the table. Sonic went over to the door and Dave opened it for him. "See you in a few days." He said. Sonic turned around. "Maybe sooner if I want some more, you know." He said. Dave shut the door and Sonic headed home, smiling now that he had a TV to watch again instead of sitting in the dark doing nothing.

As Sonic walked into his yard and around to the back door, he set the TV down on the ground and opened the door. Sonic picked the TV up again and set it on the couch, going back to shut the door behind him. "Fuck! Note to self: Get a heater." He said, starting to shiver slightly. He went over to where the old set was and set it on the floor beside the stand and set the new one in it's place. Sonic plugged it in and turned it on.

The screen lit up, followed by the sound of talking. Ironically, it was on the weather channel, which had a clock in the corner of the screen; the biggest difference between this TV and the other one was that this was a color TV. "Nice." Sonic said quietly. He went into the bedroom and grabbed the blanket off the bed and sat down on the couch and wrapped himself up in it. The only setback to it was that he had to reach over and change the channels by hand but it was the same as the other one so it didn't matter much.

Sonic flipped through the channels and came back around to the weather channel again and decided to leave it there for the moment. "39? No wonder it's cold outside. Feels about the same in here." He said, flipping through the channels again. He finally left it on a movie. He didn't know what it was but he didn't care, he was just happy to have a TV again. "It is nice to have something to watch again. It's a little too convenient that he had an extra one. But then again, drug dealers aren't normal people. I wouldn't be surprised if he had six of 'em just lying around gathering dust."

Sonic sat in the light of the TV and started planning for the following night. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what he needed to do. Make enough money to survive. Ten bucks wouldn't buy much; just enough to get something to eat. "Maybe I should go get something to eat." He said to himself. But instead, he fell asleep on the couch watching the TV.

Sonic woke up a few hours later, his neck stiff and sore. "Ow." He moaned, rubbing it. "Need to stop doing that." He said, getting up. After the mandatory morning pit stop, he went into the kitchen, looked through the cabinet and shut it. The only edible stuff he had were two cans of Spam© and a few slices of bread. "Looks like I'm going out again." He said. Sonic went into the bedroom and stopped outside the bathroom and looked at the bathtub. It had been a while since his last bath and he wanted to take another one so bad. But it wasn't exactly the perfect temperature. If it were warmer, and he could just let the water warm up enough where he could stand it, but it took two to three hours, depending on the temperature.

Now that it was cold, there was no way he was taking one now. He walked past it and into his room and grabbed a change of clothes. He pulled the one's he was wearing off and pulled the new one's on along with the sweater he was wearing. Sonic went to throw his dirty clothes into the duffel, but it was full. "Fuck." He said, tossing them on the bed. "I'll worry about that later." He said, grabbing his wallet off the nightstand and sticking it in his back pocket.

"Oh shit! How the hell did I forget?" He asked himself, grabbing the duffel off the bed and pulling out the pair of pants he had been wearing last night. He pulled them out and dug his hand into the pocket and pulled out the syringe he had bought along with the bag of weed. He looked the syringe over good, checking to see if it was damaged. From what he could tell it hadn't been messed up very bad. It was just slightly bent from being in his pocket all night. He laid it next the baggie of pot and headed out the door.

_Where do I go first? _Sonic thought. _Guess I could check out that electronics store Dave was telling me about last night._ _See how much I need. Maybe I should eat first. Get that out of the way then go over there. Need to go by the mini-mart and get some papers and a lighter. Might be a good idea to see how much a heater costs. It'd be nice to not freeze my ass off every time I got up. Eh, I'll go check out that store first. _Before he knew it he had reached the park. "That was fast."

Sonic passed 'The Lunchbox' and kept walking until he hit fifth and made a left. Sure enough, it was two stores down. There was a sign above the door that read 'Cellular Shack' Sonic laughed at the name, walked up to the door and went in. The first thing he noticed was the air. It was clean and had an almost 'sanitized' smell to it; it was similar to a hospital mixed with what he could only describe as a 'electronicy' scent. The walls were a light shade of gray; the shelves on the wall had various electronic devices sitting on them. Mostly DVD players, computers, towers and monitors. The floor had displays touting the latest cell phones and Mp3 players. A pyramid of R/C cars and different toys were along one wall; mostly toys aimed at helping kids learn. And on the opposite side of the store, there was a display showcasing air purifiers and humidifiers/dehumidifiers, including fans and space heaters.

"It's a nerd's paradise." Sonic said under his breath. The sales clerk saw him walk in and started walking over to him. "Hi!" He said in a perky voice. "My name's Chad. Are you looking for anything in particular?" He asked. Sonic had to stifle a shudder that ran down his spine. _Oh he is way too fucking happy for ten in the morning. _"Yeah." He said, "I'm looking to buy a DVD player and was wondering how much one would cost. Nothing too fancy." Sonic said. "Well sir," Chad began, walking behind the counter, "We have a Blu-Ray/DVD combo for $89.99 that is Wi-Fi accessible." He said, holding it up and smiling that cheesy salesman smile.

"That's a little out of my price range." Sonic said. "Do you have anything cheaper?" He asked. The smile on Chad's face faded slightly and he set it back on the shelf. "Not the technological type, huh?" He said. Sonic shook his head. "Well," Chad said, "if you're on a budget," He said, taking one off of the shelf behind him. "This one's $29.99." Sonic looked it over. It was what he was looking for and he could afford it; just not at the moment. "That'll do it." He said, picking the box up off the counter. He lifted it up and down a couple of times, trying to get a feel for the weight of it. He didn't know much about electronics, but he did know not to buy something that felt like a light breeze was going to blow it away.

It felt like it had a good, solid amount of weight behind it he was sold on it. "That one look's good." He said. "Okay." Chad said, taking the box over to the register and beginning to ring him up. "No, no." Sonic said quickly, waving his hand. Chad looked up from the register. "I won't have the money until tomorrow. I was just figuring out how much I'm gonna need." Sonic said. "No problem, sir." Chad said, putting the box back on the shelf. Sonic noticed there were a few things he had wanted to get but hadn't been able to find until now. A clock radio for one. He had wanted one since he had moved into his new place and he saw they were pretty cheap. He saw one that was about the size of a large brick that was on sale for $6.99 and another essential he needed as well. A heater.

Sonic walked over to where they were on display along with the fans and looked over the heaters. "Which one of these would you recommend?" Sonic asked. "How big is the room you want to use it in?" Chad asked. "I honestly don't know. It's big though." He said. "Well," Chad said, looking over the different heaters. "This one's $49.99. It's a good one. I have one in my bathroom at home. Heats it up in a couple of minutes." He said. Sonic went over everything in his head. _Close to 90 bucks. If I'm gonna make that much, I'm gonna have to put in some time tonight. _"OK. I'll be back in tomorrow." Sonic said, walking over toward the door. "Have a good day." He heard Chad say in his cheery voice. Sonic shuddered and shook his head. "Oh, he is way too happy."

Sonic walked over to The Lunchbox and went in. Since Sarah wasn't working, he just ordered his food and left. It wasn't that he had anything against anyone that worked there, it was just she had been a big reason why he had kept going there. That and he had no way of cooking for himself. He had thought about asking her out, but that idea got the boot pretty quick. Besides, if she did say yes, he couldn't have her over at his place. Blue finished and paid for it, which left him with about five bucks to spend. He decided to head on over to the mini-mart.

A few minutes later:

The bell rang above the door as Sonic walked into the mini-mart. He looked behind the counter and saw Pete sitting on his stool, reading his paper. He saw Sonic walk in and threw his hands up in the air and started laughing. _Man, he's not going to let that go. _"Give me the money!" Sonic yelled, laughing along with him. "How you doing?" Sonic asked. "Not bad." He said. "You?" Sonic tilted his head slightly to the side. "Bout the same." He said. Sonic went back to where the sodas and beer were and looked them over. _Maybe I should get something to drink for later._ He thought. He didn't drink much water since the city's water tasted more like chlorine than water; he only drank when he was thirsty. Sonic opened the case and grabbed a bottle of water and a soda out of the cold box and headed to the register.

He set them on the counter and grabbed his wallet. "Not bad out there today." He said, trying to make conversation. "Yup. Warmer than usual." Pete said, tapping a few buttons on the register. Next to the register, there was a small display selling disposable lighters. _That's right. I have that weed at home... _Sonic grabbed one and set it with the soda and the water. "You have any rolling papers?" Sonic asked, not seeing any sitting out. "Yeah. How many you need? I got packs of 25 and 50." Pete said. "I'll take the 25." Sonic said. _That should last._ Pete laid them down beside the lighter and grabbed a bag from behind the counter. "That's $3.73." He said. Sonic pulled out his last four bucks and handed it to him. Pete took it and, after punching a few more buttons, he grabbed Sonic's change. Sonic took it and held it in his hand. _Twenty-three cents?_ He dropped in the leave a penny tray and grabbed the bag off the counter.

"Thanks Pete." Sonic said. "See you later." Pete said, going back to his paper. Sonic got home and set the bag on the counter and took the lighter and the papers out and left the bottles in the bag. _I'll take 'em with me tonight. Sonic tossed them on the coffee table and went into his room and grabbed the baggie of the nightstand. He went back into the living room and sat down on the couch, scooting toward the edge. Sonic turned the TV on and grabbed the baggie. He opened it and the smell of pot wafted out of the bag. "Whoo. Nice." He said, setting it down. Next, he grabbed the box of papers and opened them and took one out, then took a few pinches of weed and set it in the fold of the paper._

_He rolled it up and sealed it, and grabbed the lighter off the table. He gave it a few flicks to make sure it was going to light, which it did. "Probably should have done that right after I bought it." He said, sticking the joint in his mouth. He put his thumb over the striker wheel and gave it one more turn. *Crick* The lighter lit up on command and Sonic held the flame to the tip of the joint and took a couple of puffs to get the cherry going. *Mmmmm* He moaned, the smoke filling his lungs. He held it in for a few seconds then let it out in a coughing fit. *hack hack hack* "Damn." He wheezed. He took another drag, this time not as much as the first. He held it in for a few more seconds then let it out._

_The smoke hung in the air in thick pillows around him. After a few minutes he began feeling relaxed and happy. Sonic took a few more puffs and tossed it on the floor and put it out with his foot. He reached over and went through the channels. "Ooh, cartoons." After a while, his high had worn off and he was back to normal. "Hmm. That was a waste of money." He said, picking the bag of weed off the table and went into his bedroom and set it with the needles next to his bed. It wasn't that it was bad pot, it was good. But it wasn't like he remembered. Sonic sat back down and checked the time; '5:18'. "Almost time to go to work." He said._

_Once the sun had set, Sonic headed out the door, this time taking the TV along with him. It wasn't too hard to carry since it was small and there was a handle on the top of the set. "If there is juice in that place, Least I'll have something to watch." He said. Sonic also remembered to bring his blanket with him. Just having a sweatshirt wasn't going to cut it tonight. It was going to be cold and he didn't feel like freezing all night either._

_Once he got there, Sonic set the TV on the floor and looked around for a plug-in. He found one and plugged the set into it and held his breath. Sonic pushed the power button and to his surprise, the TV powered on. "Nice." He said, sitting down against the wall and dragging the set in front of him; Sonic wrapped the blanket around him and settled in for the night._


	18. Chapter 18: Reality Check

Chapter 18: Reality Check

Rated T for language.

Sonic sat in his new 'office' in the feint glow of the TV, waiting for his next customer to show up. It was about three in the morning and he had made close to four hundred that night. He had seen eight so far; eight over a seven hour period. Sonic sat wrapped in the blanket he had brought with him counting his take so far. "Three-fifty, four hundred... four-forty." _Not bad for a few hours work. _He thought. Sonic closed his wallet and stuck it back into his pants pocket and re-adjusted the blanked. _Damn, three already? _He thought, checking the time. _I think it's time to pack it in._ Sonic stood up and bent down to unplug the TV when there was the familiar knock at the door. *Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock*

"Ugh." Sonic groaned. He wanted to go home for the night, but he knew that every bit would help. He went over to the door and opened it. "Come on in." He said, stepping aside. _That's weird._ Sonic thought as the guy walked in. _He's shaking under that heavy ass sweatshirt?_ _Either he thinks I'm a cop or it's his first time. _Sonic thought. "So, you wanna sit down?" Sonic asked, going back over to the blanket on the floor. "Sure." The guy said, walking over to the blanket and sitting down next to Sonic.

"So, you looking for anything particular?" Sonic asked. "Mm-hmm. Can I get a hand?" He asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Forty bucks." Sonic said. The guy stood up and reached into his back pocket and took his wallet out and thumbed through it, then took out a couple of twenty's and handed them to Sonic, the guy's hand was shaking hard. Blue hesitated for a second, unsure whether or not to take the money, but shrugged it off and stuck the money in his wallet. Sonic reached behind him to put his wallet away and turned around just in time to see the kick coming at him.

Sonic didn't have time to react and the guy's leg made contact with his right side. *THUD* It connected and Sonic bend over to the side and fell to the ground. "Ugh!" He grunted as the guy quickly fell on top of him, pinning Sonic's arms to the ground with his knees, punching him in the face. *Bap-bap-bap* Sonic tired to pull his arms out from underneath the guy, punches continuing to hit him in the face and eye. "Ugh!" Sonic groaned, punch after punch connecting with his head, most hitting him in the mouth and the temple.

He landed a few more punches and the guy finally stopped and stood up. *Hack hack* Sonic coughed, blood spraying on the floor. Sonic looked down and saw the blood dripping from his nose and mouth, landing in splotches on the dirty floor. Sonic tried to stand up, but he felt a sharp pain in his side as another kick made contact with his ribs. "Aaaagh!" Sonic yelled, collapsing down to the ground. He balled up and tried to protect himself as best he could, wrapping his arms around his head, but another kick hit him in the same place again. "Aaaaagh!" Sonic yelped again.

Sonic watched as the guy knelt down in front of him and reached for his back pocket. Sonic tried to fight back and tried to land a punch of his own, but he was stunned from the sudden attack; his attacker saw Sonic trying to put up a fight and punched him in the temple. That punch made Sonic's body go limp. His attacker, now free to do as he pleased, reached into Sonic's pants and grabbed his wallet and took out all the cash Sonic had earned that night. "Thanks. That was the best forty buck's I've ever spent." His attacker said, tossing the empty wallet back on the ground and calmly walking out of the house.

*Mmmmm.* Sonic moaned, picking his head up off the floor. _I-I'm alive?_ He looked around and saw the sun had come up, he was alone, and the guy was long gone. "Aah! Shit." He groaned as he tried to sit up. His right side felt like it was on fire and his head was pounding; his right eye was swollen shut and he was having a hard time breathing through his nose. "What the fuck?" He yelled as he reached up to rub his head; he pulled his hand quickly away from his head as it cried out in pain. "Wha..." He wondered out loud. His hand was covered in blood.

_What the hell happened? _His memory was fuzzy and he couldn't remember much about what had happened. The only thing he remembered was getting attacked, then that guy started wailing on him, then he woke up bleeding and in pain. It hurt to move, but Sonic somehow managed to get to a sitting position. _Shit._ He looked over and saw a pool of blood where his head was. "Motherfucker!" He yelled, reaching down and grabbed his wallet off the ground. He opened it and remembered what had happened. "Motherfucker rolled me." He said, throwing his wallet across the room; it hit the wall and fell to the ground, the plastic sheets that hold credit cards and pictures falling out.

It hurt to move, but Sonic somehow managed to stand up, although it wasn't easy with his head pounding and spinning at the same time. "Fuck!" He yelled again, almost tripping over the TV set in the floor. "He didn't take the fucking TV? Guess I should be thankful for that. Well Merry Fucking Christmas." He said, staggering toward the bathroom. He walked in and flipped the light on. The bathroom mirror had been cracked, leaving only a small strip hanging on the wall. Sonic inched toward it, leaning on the sink for support.

"Jesus!" He felt tired and sick and his legs were wobbly. Once he made sure he wasn't going to fall over, Sonic looked at the mirror. "Oh... God." He said quietly, getting a full view of the damage. The right side of his face was swollen and his eye was definitely closed like he figured it was, but it was twice it's normal size and bruised as well. He saw his nose had been bleeding by the twin trails of blood that were left. There was a cut in his forehead. From what he could see out of his good eye, it wasn't deep, but it bled and bled good. Right underneath it, there was dried blood as well.

He felt his nose to see if it had been broken, which after giving it a good probing he knew it hadn't, he knew that the blockage was from a mass of blood that had dried inside. *Hnnggh* He groaned again. He pulled his sweater off and after carefully maneuvering it so it didn't scrape his swollen eye, laid it on the back of the toilet. He looked at the blood that had dried on it as well and shook his head. Sonic looked down and saw his right side was covered in bruises where he'd been kicked; repeatedly from what he could tell and feel. They were large in size, about four inches in length and a dark purple.

"Shit." He yelped as he ran his hand over the site. _Smart move. _Sonic grabbed his sweater off the toilet and threw it back on and walked out of the bathroom. Sonic let out a sigh and went over to the blanket and picked it up off the floor. "Fuck!" He yelled. He wanted to leave it, but it was the only thing he had to keep him warm at night. Then he looked at the TV sitting on the floor. "Could this day get any worse?" He said, slowly making his way over to the TV. Instead of bending over, he bent at the knee and unplugged it from the wall; it still hurt, but not as much as it would have if he'd just bent straight over.

Once he had the set balanced where it didn't hurt his side, he walked out of the house and walked home, taking his time. He had to stop a couple of times to let the nausea pass, but forty minutes later, he finally walked through the back door. He went in and set the TV down in it's usual spot, draped the blanket over the back of the couch, then went over to the backdoor and locked it.

Then he went into the bathroom and grabbed a roll of toilet paper and set it by the sink. "This is gonna be fun." He said. He pulled off a few sheets and doubled them up, then he blew his nose. Nothing came out the first time, so he took a deep breath and blew as hard as he could. Whatever it was came loose and when it did, it sounded like someone had pulled the cork out of a bottle champagne in his head. A loud pop, followed by bits of dried blood, then fresh blood. "Oop!" Sonic yelped as it came out quickly. _That was weird._

It didn't last long and finished in less than a minute. He pulled the TP away from his nose and saw it stopped. "Huh. Like blowing a hole in a dam." Blue turned the water on and grabbed some more TP. This he wet and managed to get some of the blood that had dried off his face, but not all of it. "That should do it for now." He said, tossing the wet paper in the toilet bowl. Next he opened the cabinet and grabbed the tube of Neo-Sporin© and took the cap off, managing to get just enough to barely cover the cut on his forehead.

He tossed the tube on the ground and shut the water off. "You look like shit." He said to his reflection before he walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Sonic grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and walked into his bedroom and sat down on the bed, letting out a sigh. "Damn that feels good." He said. "Wish I had some aspirin or something." Sonic took his shoes off and set them on the floor, then something caught his attention. Out of the corner of his good eye, he saw the pot lying on the nightstand, next to the rolling papers, lighter and empty syringe, which he grabbed and threw behind his back.

He grabbed the papers of the table, took one out and put the rest back on the nightstand. He scooted closer to the nightstand and grabbed the bag of weed. He opened it and put some in the fold of the paper and started rolling it; he sealed it and stuck it in his mouth. He grabbed the lighter and sparked it up and took a couple of puffs off of it. "That takes me back." He said, blowing the smoke out. He finished the joint and snuffed it out on the nightstand. "Oh, that's better." He said. Most of the pain in his head and side had been reduced to a dull roar. Sonic pulled his sweater off and laid down on the bed, stretching out and falling asleep.

When he woke up, it was dark and cold. "Already?" He said, sitting up and pulling on his sweater quickly to keep the cold at bay. He put his shoes on and went into the bathroom. Sonic flicked the light on and did his thing, then checked his face in the mirror. The swelling in his eye had almost vanished and it had started to open up again. The bruises had improved as well. They were light in color instead of the dark purple they had been when he first looked at them. The pain had even improved too. It was a down to a dull roar instead of the extreme it had been yesterday.

Sonic had always had a high recovery rate as well as the ability to quickly heal himself, something he was grateful for. It was a handy thing to have in battle. Sonic moved around a little and once he realized it wasn't going to feel like he was being stabbed with a knife in his side, he got up and grabbed the blanket and went into the living room for the day.

It passed by quickly. TV was good for a change. PBS had finally acquired the rights to re-runs of 'Modern Marvels' and a few other shows. But he had one problem. He would have to go back out that night to try to make some cash to get a syringe. He had used his last one the other day and he knew he would need another one in a day, two if he was lucky.

His use had increased over the past couple of weeks. He had went from using every three or four days, then every other day, now he was using every day. He didn't mind it thought. He enjoyed it. And it wasn't like it was a problem for him. If anything the problem was that he never had more than enough to last him more than a week. But it wasn't too hard for him to get more. But the problem was that he wanted to get a couple days supply as well as the things he had planned on buying yesterday. Getting at least two syringes, a heater, a clock radio so he wouldn't have to constantly check the TV all the time and a DVD player would cost him a nice chunk of change. "Let's see..." He said, doing the math in his head. "Comes out to... $170. Give or take a few bucks. Equals to about five to seven customers, depending on what they want..." Sonic let out a sigh. He was still sore and he didn't feel like going back that night, but he didn't have much choice.

He had a couple of hours to kill so he spent them wisely like he always did. He watched more TV. But eventually the sun set and he knew that he had to go, pain or no pain. He got up, changed clothes and grabbed his wallet then walked out of the bedroom and to the backdoor and unlocked it. But instead of opening the door, he took his hand off the knob and took a step away from the door. Suddenly, in that moment, when he realized that he had just been beaten, robbed and left for dead and he was still going to keep doing it for that syringe, it was like a fog had been lifted from his mind and he could see everything.

Sonic walked away from the door and went back over to the couch and sat down and put his head in his hands and cried. He cried at how bad his life had become. Cried at the fact he was an addict. Cried at the fact he had been having sex for money to fund his habit. Cried that he had turned his friends away when all they were trying to do was help him. The fog had indeed been lifted and now, he could see again.

When Sonic finally stopped crying, he wiped his eyes and let out a sigh. "That felt good." Sonic said, a small smile on his face. Now that he had finally realized that he had a problem, the next step was getting help. Sonic stood up and went into the bedroom and started packing his stuff. While he was packing, he started thinking about Sally and the others. _Will they forgive me? Will they help me? Will they even talk to me? _He wondered. He knew he had done a lot of things to turn them away from him. Sally he knew had taken the brunt of the shit he had dished out to all of them. Tails, who he had almost ignored when they had shown up to try to help him; he completely ignored Knuckles and Shadow... Actually, he wouldn't have been surprised if Shadow started laughing his ass off.

_But if they do, I'll deserve every bit of it. _He said, shoving the blanket into the bag, zipping it up and slinging it over his shoulder. He grabbed his wallet, which still had a bit of his blood still on it off the nightstand and saw the bag of weed. "Do I take it with me or not?" He asked himself. It had helped him cope with the pain before and he still hadn't fully recovered from the beating he'd gotten. His side was still sore and he knew it would serve as a decent painkiller if he needed it.

Sonic decided to take it with him and stuck it in his pocket. He knew he could get busted for having it on him, but since he hadn't seen a single cop around town, he decided to risk it. He grabbed the papers and the lighter and stuck them in his pocket too. Sonic walked out and took one final look around and saw the TV sitting there; he wanted to take it with him, but he knew it would only slow him down. So he decided to leave it behind. Blue walked over to the backdoor and opened it and took one last look around. "See ya." He said, shutting the door behind him.

Sonic knew he had to move quickly if he wanted to make any ground before it got too dark. It wasn't hard for him to find his way back home. Metropolis was East of the house and since the sun was setting, all he had to do was head in that direction and follow the road. Sonic knew it wasn't very far from Sally's to Metropolis by car, only thirty miles. He figured it was around six and if he stopped only to rest for short periods, ten minutes or so every couple of hours, he would get there that night or early the next morning. Sonic tightened the bag around his shoulders and pushed forward.

"Gonna be cold tonight." He said, the wind blowing the cold through his open sweater. Sonic zipped his sweater up and kept walking. "And boring." He said. Sonic looked around and saw that the land was flat and grassy. As he walked, he started thinking about how it would go down.He still wasn't sure if they'd welcome him back or not. _What if they don't? That'll be nice. 'Oh, so you think you can just come crawling back here like a dog?'_ He could see everyone in his mind's eye, standing around, looking at him, judging him. _'Pathetic.' Tails would say. 'How did I ever love you?' Sally would say. *Heh* 'Look's like I finally win.' Shadow would say. _Sonic shook his head. "C'mon now. Stop that." He said. He didn't want to have a nervous breakdown on the side of the road.

So to calm his nerves, he stopped and reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag of pot he'd brought with him. "This should calm me down a bit." He said. He stopped and took a knee in the dirt, sliding the bag off his back and laying it on the ground in front of him, laying the baggie on top of it. He pulled the papers and the lighter out of his pocket and set them on the duffel bag too. He opened the bag of weed and took one of the papers and sprinkled a little of the weed in the fold of the paper. "Eh, maybe a little more." He said, taking another pinch and adding it to the rest. Once he had enough, he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger until it all came together, and licked the glue strip, sealing it closed.

Sonic stuck it in his mouth and reached down to close the baggie up, when he kicked the duffel bag by accident, causing the baggie to spill on the ground. "Shit!" He exclaimed, moving the duffel bag out of the way quickly. But the weed had spilled out on the ground and mixed with the dirt and gravel on the ground. Sonic couldn't do anything but stare helplessly at the ground. He just put the papers and the lighter back in his pocket, picked the duffel bag up and slung it over his shoulder and went on his way.

"Least I still have you." He said, taking the joint out of his mouth and licking his lips where it had been resting. He stuck it back in his mouth and took the lighter and holding his hand in front of the lighter, he struck it and the flame came out. He took a few puffs to get it started, then put the lighter back into his pocket. Sonic took a couple of good puffs and held in the smoke, then blew it out. In five minutes, he had the entire thing finished. He tossed it on the ground and stamped it out with his foot, making sure it was out completely. "Last thing I need is to be setting accidental fires." He said, continuing down the road.

Now that he was fully baked, he began to relax. He still had a few hours of walking left ahead of him, but it would be easier on him.He didn't think about much. His mind didn't start wondering if everyone was going to welcome him back. No. The only thing he could think of was why no one had made a candy flavored toothpaste. "Chocolate flavored toothpaste? That would be awesome."

A few hours later:

Sonic wanted to rest, but he didn't want to. He had been looking for the landmark that would tell him that he was getting close and he'd found it. There was a stream that ran most of the year about three miles from their house. Sonic knew it well since he and Sally had walked it many times during the spring and summer, had picnics during the day; there was one summer night that was very memorable for the both of them. It started innocently enough, a warm moonlit night, small pecks on the cheek, but turned hot an heavy soon after, and ended with Sonic losing his pants in the river. He set them on a large rock, but unknown to him, they fell off into the water and floated away.

Once he saw that, he knew he was in the home stretch, and he'd walk up those steps in a couple of hours. The stream was almost dry for winter; there was just a trickle of water running through it, which was surprising for that time of year. But when he saw that stream and realized how close he was, the anxiety began to kick in again.

But that wasn't the only thing he was feeling. He was beginning to feel withdrawals begin to set in. He knew it had been building for the last few hours. At first, it was just some slight numbness in his feet, but now, it had spread into his arms and hands. He was starting to sweat on top of everything. "Shit." Sonic said, unzipping the sweater and letting the cold air rush over him. "Feel's like I just stepped out of the shower." He said, running a hand over his chest so his shirt would soak up some of the sweat. Sonic knew time was running out for him quickly. It hurt, but he picked up his pace and tried to walk faster, but he could only keep up his increased speed for a few minutes.

Sonic kept pushing forward, through the pain, sweating, nausea, the burning sensation in his feet and legs. God how he wanted to stop, but if he did, he might not get back up. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty. That's when the headaches began to set in. Luckily for him, they hadn't become full blown yet. _C'mon. Keep walking. You can't stop now._ He kept telling himself.

"Where the hell is it?" He said, trudging through the pain. "Should be able to see it by now. Where the hell is it?" He said. He knew that he should've been able to see the faint glow of the porch light by now. The headaches were starting to get stronger now. It took all his concentration to keep one foot moving in front of the other. "Is... is that..." He panted. Looking off in the distance, he finally saw the beacon he had been looking for.

He had to be no more than five, ten minutes away; if he would've been able to walk normally that is. Now he was reduced to almost crawling. The pain was all over his body. His arms, legs, feet and hands all ached as one. But he forced himself to ignore it, willed himself to keep going. He knew that light that kept getting brighter and closer with every step was home.

"Walk you son of a bitch!" He yelled. "Fuck!" _C'mon._ Sonic reached up and undid the straps holding the duffel bag on his back and it fell to the ground. "That's... better." He said, tears falling from his eyes. It was like a weight had been taken off of him. He was breathing heavy, but now he could see the outline of the house clearly in the moonlight. He also saw Sally's car parked in the driveway.

Less than 200 feet from the house, Sonic collapsed to the ground. *Nnnnnnggggh* He hit the ground with a thud. "Oh, God!" He moaned, tears streaming from his eyes. He was close to his goal that he could almost reach out and touch it. But he was exausted. He tried to stand up, but fell back down on the ground. He was cold, shivering but at the same time, his body felt like it was on fire from the fever. "No." He said. "Not here. Not now. You're so fucking close. Now GET UP!" Sonic, reaching deep inside of himself, stood up and forced himself to put one foot in front of the other.

The pain was intense, every step causing a bolt of pain to shoot through him. But Sonic, to his credit pushed through it. He had dodged laser beams, robots, almost drowned on numerous occasions, jumped over rivers of lava, dodged trees, rocks and every hazard known to man while going well over 700 mph, but this was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do; the simple task of walking felt like it was going to kill him.

Sonic crept closer and closer and when he finally reached the edge of the yard, his body could no longer support his weight and he collapsed to the ground again. But that didn't stop him. Sonic dug into what strength he had left and crawled the last twenty feet to the door and finally plopped down on the cold cement from exhaustion. *Nnngggh* Sonic moaned. *Heh heh heh * "I... did it." Sonic said, laughing and panting.

The withdrawals were intense. He was sweating, shaking and every muscle in his body ached. He was cold and yet running a fever at the same time, which made for some very interesting sensations. His hands and feet were numb and he felt like he'd just ran a marathon. But, he walked and crawled through the pain, now all he had to do was reach up and knock on the door. Sonic reached up with a shaky hand and knocked. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Mmmmrrrrghhppp." Sally moaned, waking up and turning over. She looked over at the clock by the side of the bed to check the time. '5:18' *Mmmm* She moaned, sitting up on the side of the bed, still half asleep. Her red and black flannel pajamas falling around her. Through her half-awakened state, she fumbled around in the darkness and made her way over to the door and opened it. She swung it open and walked out slowly, patting her hand along the wall and feeling for the light switch. She found it and turned it on and the light bathed the darkened hallway with a soft glow. "Ngh." Sally grunted, her eyes squinting from the sudden brightness.

She walked down the hall into the bathroom and just as she stepped foot inside the bathroom, she heard a knock at the door. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* "Mmmmrrghhpp." She mumbled, still in sleep mode. "I need to stop waking up this early." She said, pushing the flush handle down and going over to the sink to wash her hands. The hot water rushed out and she ran her hands under it, which felt good running over her cold hands. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"What was that?" She murmured, shutting the water off and drying her hands off with the hand towel hanging by the sink. Sally opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, listening carefully. "Huh. Must be hearing things." She said, yawning. She clicked the bathroom light off and walked out, heading back to her room.

"Oh, come on." Sonic said, his teeth chattering from the cold. He reached up and knocked again. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Sally reached over and flicked the hall light off and stepped back into the bedroom when she heard the same noise again. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* She turned her head toward the noise. _That time I know I heard something. _Sally flipped the hall light on again and walked into the front of the house. Sally slowly made her way through the darkness until she reached the front door. _What the hell? _She looked through the peephole, but didn't see anything. _Am I hearing things? _"Huh." She said, pulling away from the peephole. "Maybe I am hearing things." Sally shrugged her shoulders and headed back to bed.

Outside the door, Sonic laid on the ground, freezing. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Sally jumped from the sudden noise. _Okay. Now I _know_ I heard that. _She thought, quickly stepping over to the peephole and looked through it. Sally reached over and slid the chain from it's latch and unlocked the deadbolt. Sonic heard the faint sound of the chain sliding out and knocking against the wall as it swung back and forth and heard the loud clicking sounds of the deadbolt sliding out of it's hole.

Sally cracked the door open enough so she could see out and looked around. Then she saw something on the ground in front of the door, shaking and shivering; her eyes grew wide and she started tearing up. Sonic looked up and saw her, wide eyed, tearing up and he smiled; his heart jumped into his throat. "Hey." He said. Sally opened the door and stepped out onto the cold cement in her bare feet, but she didn't even notice it. "S-Sonic?" She said, her voice wavering with emotion. Sonic looked at her, smiling. "T-that's wh-what my mama ca-called me." He said. _Still beautiful._ He was starting to really feel the cold piercing his thin sweater. Sally rushed out and keeled down beside him, tears falling down her face; she reached out and touched his face. She could feel the heat rising off of it even it the cold of the morning.

"What's wrong?" She said. Now that she was closer to him, she saw he was shivering from the cold, yet he had a high fever and he was sweating. _That's not right._ She thought. She wiped the tears away from her face. The last thing he saw as he lost consciousness was the woman he loved kneeling over him, smiling and crying.

"Sonic?" She said, holding his head in her hands. His eyes were closed and he didn't respond. "Sonic." She said again, shaking him. He still didn't respond and she felt her heart jumped up in her throat.

She put a hand to his forehead and felt the heat rising off of it. "Oh, God!" She exclaimed. She put her forefinger and middle finger against the side of his neck and felt for his pulse. "C'mon. C'mon!" She said, feeling around. The heat coming off his body was incredible. After feeling around for several seconds and even though he was shaking, she finally found it; it was weak but she could feel it. "Shit." She said.

Sally jumped up and raced back inside the house, quickly flipping on lights as she went. She ran into her bedroom and grabbed her phone and ran back outside. She knelt down beside him and dialed 911. She held the phone up to her ear and waited for the operator to pick up.

"911." Sally heard the operator say when it finally connected. "Yeah, I need an ambulance." Sally said. "Okay, what's the emergency?" The operator asked. "I woke up about five minutes ago and found my boyfriend lying down outside my door. He was shaking, and..." Sally felt herself begin to cry, but managed to hold it in. "When I went over to him, he passed out. He's still shaking, but he had a fever and his pulse is really weak." She said. "Okay. And how long has he been unconscious?" The operator asked.

"Uh, about a minute." She said. "Okay, and is he breathing?" The operator asked. Sally looked, but she couldn't tell through the sweater he was wearing. She placed her hand on his chest. The sweater was soaked with sweat, but she felt his chest rising and falling slowly. "Yeah."

"Okay. And do you know what happened?" She asked. "No. I heard him knocking on the door and when I opened it, I saw him lying on the ground." She said. She took Sonic's hand in hers; it was shaking hard and fast. "He's shaking pretty bad too."

"Wait... He has a fever and he's shaking too?" The operator asked. "Yeah." Sally said. "Okay, ma'am. What's your address?" Sally rattled it off for the operator. "Okay, ma'am. I've dispatched an ambulance to your location and they should be arriving in twenty minutes."

Sally's jaw dropped. "Twenty minutes? But he might not have that long. He needs help now!" She said, her voice raising in tone. "I'm sorry ma'am, but you're-" Sally heard enough and hit the 'END CALL' button. "Twenty minutes my ass." She said, laying the phone down on the ground beside Sonic. She ran inside and grabbed her keys off the wall beside the door and shut it behind her and locked it.

Then she hit the 'UNLOCK' button on the key ring and the car honked, signaling that the alarm had turned off. "You need help now." She said, sticking the keys in her pocket. She bent down and stuck her hands underneath Sonic's arms and started dragging him toward the car, his feet dragging the ground; her adrenaline was flowing and she managed to drag Sonic to the car with ease, even opening the door with one hand. She swung the door open and stepped in front of him and lifted him up into the back seat. Once he was halfway in, she ran around to the other side of the car and crawled in through the other side and pulled him in the rest of the way.

"You better not die on me." She said as she ran over and grabbed her phone off the porch. She hit a button and a voice spoke through the speaker. 'PLEASE SAY A COMMAND' "Call Tails." She said as she got in and started the car; the engine turned over and she revved it a couple of times to warm it up. She buckled in and once the phone started dialing, she hit the speakerphone button and laid it on the seat next to her; Sally threw it in reverse and pulled out of the driveway as fast as reverse would take her. She hit the brakes and put the car in gear. "Hold on, babe." She said, pressing down on the gas and speeding off into the night.

"C'mon you bastard." Tails mumbled, pressing down on the wrench he had in his hands. "Ngh!" He grunted as the wrench slipped off the nut he had been working on to loosen it. "You're gonna be the difficult one, aren't you?" He said, setting the wrench down and walking over to a shelf on the wall and grabbing a can of lubricant.

He stuck the straw in the nozzle and sprayed it once to make sure it wasn't clogged and held it above the nut and gave it a few good squirts. "That should do it." He said, setting the can down and picking the wrench up again. He put the wrench around the nut and tried to break it loose again, grunting and straining. "Come... on!" He yelled, pushing down with all his might on the wrench; "Aaah!" He exclaimed as it slipped off the nut and fell out off his hands, falling down to the cement floor with a loud clang.

Tails glared at the stubborn nut and took his gloves off, tossing them down on the bench next to him. He picked the lubricant back up and gave it another squirt for good measure. "Maybe it'll loosen up if it has a chance to set in." He said, setting the can down on the bench and standing up. He'd been working on the Tornado for the past couple of weeks, retro-fitting it, replacing some of the worn down outer armor plating with new plates and making minor improvements. It hadn't been flown in quite a while, but he did keep the maintenance up on it, running the engine every other week and things of that nature. After so many battles and missions, it had been long overdue for replacement, but he hadn't gotten around to it until now; too many other projects taking up his time. "At least the inner armor doesn't need to be fixed." He said, looking over his computer.

"Everything else looks good..." He trailed off, pouring over the diagnostic report on the screen. "It's just that one section left. It does need to be replaced. Maybe I can just cut it away; needs to be replaced-" *I am anger, under pressure, left in cages, a prisoner, the first to escape!* Tails' phone started ringing. He picked it up and looked at the screen, phone blaring out Black Sabbath's "I". He saw it was Sally calling and pushed the button as quickly as he could. "What's wrong?" He demanded. Tails knew that something had to be wrong for her to be calling so early in the morning. 'Tails?' He heard Sally say. No time to talk. Call Knuckles and Shadow and have them meet me at the hospital as soon as you can.' He heard her blurt out, the sound of car tires screeching in the background. "Are you OK?" He asked, his heart racing. 'I'm fine, just call them.' She said, then the phone went dead. Tails' pulled the phone away from his ear and dialed Knuckles' number.

Tails ran upstairs into his bedroom and pushed his speakerphone button and began taking his dirty, oil covered clothes and threw his closet door open, grabbing a shirt and pants and throwing them on the bed behind him. "Yeah, Tails?" He heard Knuckles' voice coming from the phone. "Hey Knuckles, something's going on with Sally. I don't know much, but she just called me and told me to call you and meet her at the hospital." Tails said, kicking his pants over against the wall and quickly pulling the new pair on. "Ngh." He grunted as his tails bend up against his back, missing the hole cut out for them in the back. He pulled them through and quickly buttoned them.

'WHAT? Is she OK?; What happened?' He asked. "I don't know. She said she was fine, but that's all I know. You need me to swing by and pick you up?" Tails asked, pulling his shoes on. 'No. I'm not on the island right now. You go ahead and I'll see you there.' Knuckles said. "Okay. I'll see you there." Tails said, picking up the phone and hanging up. Tails ran out of his room and went back down into the lab and started the automatic shutdown process. Then he scrolled through his contacts and called Shadow's phone.

"C'mon. Pick up..." Tails said, trailing off and moving quickly through the house, grabbing his keys off the table and his coat, throwing it on and heading out the door. He locked it behind him and went over to the car he'd bought six months earlier. He'd gotten tired of flying everywhere he wanted to go, either by plane or his own tails, so he had went out and gotten his license.

Tails climbed in, stuck the key in and turned the engine over. Tails reached over and flicked the heater on and as he flipped the switch for it, he heard Shadow finally answer. 'Yeah?' Shadow said, in his usual, raspy voice. "Shadow, it's me. Look, Sally just called me and told me to call you and Knuckles and meet her at the hospital." Tails said. 'What? Is she OK?' Shadow asked. "She's fine. She found Sonic passed out on her front porch. Call Knuckles and tell him!" Tails said, pulling the phone away from his head and hitting the speakerphone button on the phone and lay it in the passenger seat. Tails put the car into gear and pulled out of the driveway. "I gotta go. I'll see you there." Tails said, flooring the gas. 'Okay.' He heard Shadow say, then nothing.

Tails sped down the road, zipping around the few cars that were out that morning. His hands were shaking and he reached up and grabbed one of the CD's he kept in the holder that was strapped on the sun visor. Music always calmed him down and if there was ever a time when he needed to hear some, it was now. He took the CD and stuck it into the opening in the radio and stuck it in. The CD started up and a few seconds later, Black Sabbath's 'Neon Knights' started playing and Tails began to calm down. (I chose Dio era Sabbath at random off my computer. R.I.P. Ronnie! \m/)

Sally finally pulled into the hospital, driving right up to the 'Emergency' room door's and hit the brakes, the tires skidding a few feet. She looked back in the mirror to see if he was still breathing and she saw through the sweater he was wearing that he was, but it had become slow and labored. Sally flung the drivers side door open and tried to step out, seat belt still holding her in the seat. She fell back in the seat and reached down and pressed the release button and it snapped off of her. Finally free, she climbed out and opened the door to the backseat and quickly checked on Sonic. He was sweating buckets and his breathing was slow and labored. "Hold on!" She said, stepping back from the car door and running around the car and into the 'Emergency' room door's.

As Sally stopped just inside the door and she looked over at the nurse that was behind the desk. The nurse was looking at a file on the desk in front of her and typing the information on it into a computer. Sally ran over to the desk and looked the nurse in the eyes. "I need help out here!" She said, then ran back out to the car. The nurse closed the file and made her way from behind the desk. "I need a gurney out here!" She yelled loud enough for the entire hospital to hear and ran outside. She looked around and saw Sally leaning into the car and ran over to it. "What happened?" She asked. Now that the nurse was there, Sally straightened up and took a step back so she could look Sonic over.

"I don't know. I found him lying on the ground outside my front door about five minutes ago. When I found him, he was awake and talking, but he was shaking and hot." Sally said. Sally watched as the nurse checked Sonic over, feeling for his pulse. She held her fingers against his wrist and then up to his neck. Sally heard her mumble something, but she couldn't hear what she said. The nurse wiped the sweat off her hand on her pants and stood up. "Is he OK?" Sally asked. As she said that, three men rushed out of the emergency room doors, pushing a gurney. "Over here." The nurse said and they rushed over to the car.

"Right now we need to get him inside and look him over. Are you his wife?" The nurse asked. She shook her head. "No. I'm his girlfriend." She said. The guys pushing the gurney made their way over to the car and Sally and the nurse stepped aside to let them do their thing. They asked her a few questions as they worked on getting him out of the car. One of the men reached in and unbuckled Sonic and pulled him out and laid him on the gurney and they rushed him inside. They pulled the gurney through the doors and into a room where emergency patients were taken and pushed him into a small section that was separated by curtains and a doctor and two nurses walked over to the bed.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked as the three surrounded Sonic's bed. "22, male. His girlfriend found him about ten minutes ago. He was conscious when she found him, then he passed out a few minutes after that." One of the men who pushed Sonic inside said.

"Okay. Start getting his clothes off." He told one of the nurses. She reached into a cabinet against the wall and pulled out a pair of scissors and started cutting through Sonic's clothing. "Let's get the IV in him and start a fluid drip." The other nurse grabbed an IV rig out of the cabinet and set it on the bed. The doctor went over to the cabinet and grabbed a handful of small, plastic squares, each with a small metal snap coming out of the top of it. "I'll start getting him set up on the monitor."

The nurse that had been cutting off Sonic's clothes finished with his shirt and had gotten one arm out. "Doctor?" She said. He stopped what he was doing and looked over at the nurse. He saw she was pointing at the massive bruise on Sonic's side. "Go ahead and get his pants off, then call down to X-Ray and have them bring the portable up. I want to make sure he didn't crack a rib." The nurse nodded and continued with her duties. "And call up to the lab. I want a full work up done on him."

"Yes, Doctor." She said, continuing to cut through Sonic's pants. Once they were off, she put the scissors back in the cabinet and went to make the calls the Doctor had told her to do. He turned his focus back to the monitor leads when one of the nurses stopped him again. "Doctor, I can't get the IV in." She said. "Why?" He asked. "Well..." She said, holding one of Sonic's arms up off the bed. The Doctor took a step closer and reached up and flicked the large overhead light on. "Needle tracks." He said. "Okay. Try getting one in his foot." He said. The nurse nodded and grabbed the IV rig off the bed and went down to the foot of the bed and took off Sonic's shoes and socks, storing them under the bed. The Doctor, meanwhile, finished setting up the leads on Sonic's body.

Moving quickly, he placed the last two, then reached into another cabinet and pulled out two large, black plastic pads and removed the backing off of them and placed them on Sonic's chest. "IV's in." The other nurse said. "Okay. Go ahead and start the fluid and Methodone drips. I'll get his vitals." The Doctor said. He grabbed the wires that were hanging off the side of the monitor and began hooking them up to the leads on Sonic's chest. *snap snap snap* Once that was done, he reached up and flicked the monitor on. Finally, he snapped a small, box-like device on Sonic's index finger and waited for the monitor to begin doing it's job.

A few seconds later, it kicked on and Sonic's vitals began flashing across the screen. Heart rate, O2 saturation levels, pulse; The Doctor reached over and grabbed the BP cuff and connected one end of the hose to the monitor, then wrapped it around Sonic's arm. He pushed a button and the cuff began to inflate. Then he reached over and grabbed a small device off the wall and held it to Sonic's ear. Four seconds later, it beeped five times and the Doctor pulled it out and looked at the small screen. "114.2°. Start him on Clophormin as well until the fever goes down." "Do we have any here?" She asked. "Might have-" *BEEP BEEP BEEP* The monitor began beeping as it finished taking Sonic's BP. '180/136'

The nurse that had went to make the phone calls returned. "X-Ray'll be here in about five minutes and the lab's on there way up here now." She said. "Good. Can you run down and get 35 units of Plantix?" He asked. She nodded and jogged out of the room. The other nurse, after rummaging through the cabinet, finally turned around and laid the IV bags on the bed. "We really need to organize these things." She said, nodding her head toward the cabinet.

She hooked them to another machine by the bed and grabbed some tubing out of the cabinet and hooked one end to the IV sticking out of Sonic's foot, and the other end to the IV machine. She pressed a few buttons and the machine kicked on and began pushing the meds into his system. The other nurse came back into the room, carrying a needle in her hand. "Here you go." She said, handing it to the other nurse. She uncapped it and stuck it into the part of the IV rig in Sonic's foot that was used for injections and pressed down on the plunger.

Once the needle was empty, she pulled it out, capped it and threw it into a red 'Biohazard' box on the wall. "Can one of you keep an eye on his BP and temp?" The Doctor asked. "I can." One of the nurses said. "Okay. Watch it every five minutes and let me know when they start coming down." She nodded. "Okay. I'm going to talk to whoever brought him in."

The Doctor walked out of the room and over to the front desk. "Do you have any paperwork on the new guy?" He asked, referring to Sonic. "Yeah. Wait 'til you see the name." She said, handing the folder to him. He opened it and scanned it over. "You're kidding me." He said. "I know. I couldn't believe it either." She said. "So who brought him in?" He asked. Desk nurse looked around the waiting room; "Over there, against the wall, red hair. Name's Sally." She said. "Thanks." He said.

The Doctor walked over to where Sally was sitting. She was thumbing through a magazine when she looked up and saw him standing next to her. "Are you Sally?" He asked. She set the magazine down and stood up. "Yes." She said. "Hi. My name's Dr. Anderson." He said.

"Would you follow me please?" He asked her. "O-okay." She said. They walked down the hall, past the patient holding area where Sonic was. "Coming through." Someone said, pushing a large machine down the hall. Sally and Dr. Anderson moved to the side of the hall and let him past; he turned through a large set of double doors, into the ER's patient holding area.

They finally made it down to the other end of the hall and into a small office. Dr. Anderson opened the door and they walked in. "Have a seat." He said, walking around to the other side of the desk. "So is he going to be alright?" Sally asked. Dr. Anderson sat down. "Yes. He's not out of the woods yet, but right now he's stable." Dr. Anderson said.

"Thank God." Sally said, letting out a relieved sigh. "So what's wrong with him?" She asked. "To be blunt, he's going through withdrawals. What kind of withdrawals he's going through, I don't know; I've went ahead and ordered up a full blood work on him and I've started him on a Methodone drip to counteract the effects of the withdrawals, along with Clophormin to bring his fever down. And when we were getting his clothes off, one of the nurses found a large bruise on his right side, so I ordered an X-Ray to make sure he doesn't have a cracked rib or a punctured lung. I don't think he does, but I just want to be sure."

"Bruising? From what?" Sally asked. Dr. Anderson laid the folder he was holding down on the desk. "The logical explanation would be is that he was attacked. It was too large to have happened from a fall and the cuts and bruising on his face don't add up with one either." Dr. Anderson said. Sally nodded. "So how long will the withdrawals last? Could he die from them?" Sally asked.

"To be honest with you and answer both your questions, I don't know; it depends on the individual." He said. Sally shifted around in her chair. "So what happen-" *Knock knock knock* The door cracked open, then a nurse stepped inside. "Dr. Anderson?" She asked. "Yes?"

"The X-Rays you ordered should be back in about ten minutes." She said. "What about his blood work?" He asked. "They're taking it now." She said. "Good." He said. "Have them draw at least four vials; I don't want anything missed."

"I'll let them know." She said. The nurse shut the door and left the two alone in the room. "Where was I?" He mused. "I was asking you what happens from here on out." Sally said. "Right." Dr. Anderson said, nodding. "Like I said, it depends on the individual. But from what I've heard about him, he doesn't give up easy." Sally smiled. "That's about right." She said.

"For right now, all we can do is wait and monitor his vitals. I'll have to wait until his blood work comes back to make a better diagnosis, but that's the best I can do for right now. Do you want to see him?" Dr. Anderson asked Sally. "Yes, please." She said without hesitation. The pair stood up and Dr. Anderson walked around the desk and over toward the door and opened it; Sally walked out followed by the Doctor. They walked down the hallway and got to a pair of large steel double doors. They walked through them and the Doctor stopped beside a desk that had a nurse sitting behind it, looking over a computer monitor with the read-outs of all the patients vitals that were in the ER.

Dr. Anderson looked around. "Where's the papers on the new guy?" He asked. The nurse looked up from the monitor. "They're... here." She said, reaching out and grabbing a folder. "Thank you." He said casually and the nurse went right back to watching the computer monitor. "Let's see." He said, pouring over the file. "Well, his temperature's went down a lot. 99.6°. That's good. I don't want to jump the gun, but I think I can take him off the Clophormin once the current bag he's on is empty." Sally smiled; it was the first piece of really good news she'd heard all morning. "His BP looks better too; all his vitals are in order for now. I don't think he's in any danger of having a stroke."

Dr. Anderson took the chart over to where the curtains separated the patients and the staff. "I'll get you a chair." Dr. Anderson said, and he walked off to get her one. Sally put her hand through the part in the curtain and pulled it apart. _Oh, God._ She thought, taking a step back. What she saw in the bed in front of her didn't look like Sonic to her. He looked like a shell of his former self. He wasn't covered up since he'd been running a high fever, so he was half-covered in a hospital gown. Sally looked him over and she felt the familiar sting of tears began to form.

Sonic's muscular form that he used to be so meticulous about taking care of, was withered away; he looked like he weighed less than thirty pounds and his ribs were showing. The bruising had went down significantly; _How the hell did he manage to walk with something like that? "Here you go." _

_Sally spun around and saw Dr. Anderson standing there, holding a blue folding chair. "Thanks." She said, taking it and unfolding it beside Sonic's bed. Dr. Anderson walked around to the other side of the bed and looked Sonic over. "Hmm." He mused. Sally's head tilted to one side. "Something wrong?" She asked._

"_No. Quite the opposite. The cuts on his face." He said, pointing to the side of Sonic's head. "What cuts?" Sally asked. "Exactly. There gone." Dr. Anderson said. "I've never seen anything like it." He said, his face frozen in astonishment. "Those shouldn't have healed for another three days." He said. Sally laughed. "That's not surprising." She said. "How so?" Dr. Anderson asked._

"_He's always healed very fast." She said. "I remember once during a mission he broke his arm; damn thing healed in three days." She said, stroking the side of his head. His fur was dirty and stiff. "Really?" Dr. Anderson said, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah." She said quietly. "Well, I'll let you know when his blood work comes back, but until then, it's just a waiting game." Dr. Anderson said. "Thanks." Sally said and he went on to his next patient. _

_Sally turned back to Sonic. "Sonic." She said quietly. "Hey. Can you hear me?" She asked. Sally reached down and lowered the railing on the side of the bed. She scooted her chair as close as she could to the side of the bed and laid next to him as best as she could. She threw her arm around his neck and snuggled up close to him. "I'm glad you're back. You don't know how long I've waited for you to be beside me again." She gave him a peck on the cheek and nestled her head beside his._

"_Excuse me?" Sally looked up and saw a head poking through the closed curtain. Sally sat up; "Yes?" _

"_There's three people out front looking for you ma'am." The nurse said. "I'll be there in a minute." She said. The nurse disappeared from behind the curtain and Sally walked out a few seconds later. She walked through the double doors. Standing there in the waiting room and looking around, were Tails, Knuckles and Shadow. They saw Sally come out of the doors at the same time and rushed over to her. Tails ran up to her and gave her a big hug. "Good to see you too." She said. _

_Knuckles raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "So what's going on?" Knuckles asked. "The Doctor's waiting for his blood work to come back, and once that does, he'll know what to do. Right now, Sonic's still sleeping." _

_Dr. Anderson tapped Sally on the shoulder. "Hey, Sally. Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to let you know I finally got his X-Ray's back." Dr. Anderson said. "X-Ray's?" Tails asked, his voice filled with concern; Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain it to you in a minute. So..." _

"_Good news is, he doesn't have a cracked rib or a punctured lung like I thought. It's just a giant bruise. Um, his blood work should be coming back shortly so I'll let you know when it does." Dr. Anderson said and turned around and walked away. "Thanks." Sally said and turned back to the others. "What'd he mean by a cracked rib?" Tails demanded. "Well, I didn't see it when I found him, but when they took him back and started working on him and got his clothes off, there was a giant bruise on his right side. They thought he had broken something, but now they think someone jumped him. When, they don't know. A day ago. Two at the most." Sally said. _

"_But anyway, when they brought him in, he had a high fever and his blood pressure was high enough, they thought he was going to have a stroke." Tails' eyes widened again. "But they managed to get that under control along with his temperature. Now all we have to wait for is for him to wake up." The three nodded, taking everything in. "Can we see him?" Tails asked. _

_Sally didn't want Tails to see Sonic in the condition he was in. He might have matured a lot, but she wasn't sure that he could handle seeing Sonic in the state he was in at the moment. She remembered he'd ran out crying the last time he'd seen Sonic, and now that he was lying in a hospital bed, it might prove to be more than he could handle. But she knew she couldn't keep Tails from seeing his best friend. "Let me check." She said, getting up and walking over to the front desk. _

_A minute later, Sally came back. "It's OK. But one at a time and only for a few minutes." She said. Since Tails had been the first to ask, he was the first of the three to go in and see Sonic; Sally motioned for him to follow her. He did and the pair walked down the hallway until they reached the double steel doors. "When you go in, walk straight ahead and through the curtain." Tails nodded, took a deep breath and walked through the double doors._

_As soon as Tails disappeared behind the doors, Sally felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. "Ahh!" She yelped, jumping an inch off the ground. It was Dr. Anderson, holding a file in his hand. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." He said. "It's ok." She said, giving a small laugh. She looked down and saw the file in his hand. "Are those his test results?" She asked. Dr. Anderson nodded. "So what's the verdict?" She asked._


	19. Chapter 19: The Long Winding Road

Chapter 19 The Long Winding Road

Rated T- Language

Quick Joke: The thing about glitter is, if you get it on you, be prepared to have it on you forever. Because glitter doesn't go away. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies. - Dimitri Martin

"So what do the results say?" Sally asked; she felt like she'd been standing on pins and needles ever since the Doctor told her he had to run tests. "Well," Dr. Anderson said, opening the file and flipping through the first couple of pages. Sally couldn't help but notice that there weren't just a few pages, there were several. She couldn't see what was printed on them, but she knew even if she could see she wouldn't be able to make sense of any of it. "First off, he _is_ having a massive heroin withdrawal, just like I thought. His body is craving it and that's what caused the fever and everything. That's what caused him to pass out shortly after you found him."

Dr. Anderson paused long enough to turn the page over. "But his body is managing to deal with the shock. I don't know how long he'll keep experiencing withdrawals. If he had a normal body chemistry, I might be able to ballpark a figure, but he's a special case. I've never seen anyone with a chemistry like his. In a normal person, completely overcoming the addiction depends on the person's will to get clean, willpower and a dozen other factors. But in his case, with his unusual chemistry, it's... impossible to even say when he _might_ get completely clean. But for right now though, it's best if he gets as much sleep as he can."

"Sleep?" Sally asked. "You mean he didn't black out?" She asked. Dr. Anderson shook his head. "Yes and no. It was a combination of withdrawals and exhaustion. Should wake up in a few hours. Um..." Dr. Anderson flipped another page. "He's dehydrated, so I'm going to keep him on a fluid regimen for now, along with the Methadone to counteract the heroin in his system and anymore withdrawal symptoms that pop up. It won't completely stop the process, but it'll slow it down a great deal. Let's see..."

*BAM* The sudden noise caused Sally and Dr. Anderson to jump. They looked up from the file in the Doctors hands to see Tails running out of the doors, crying. He ran to Sally and buried his head in her shirt. "Shhh, shhhhh. It's okay. Let it all out." She said softly and with the grace of a loving mother. Tails' sobs could be heard through the hospital, and he looked up at her, fur matted around his face. *Sob Sob* He didn't say anything, he just looked at Sally and put his head back down in her bosom. There wasn't any need for him to say anything. The look on his face said it all.

"Do you need a minute?" Dr. Anderson said quietly. Sally glanced over at him and nodded and he gave her a nod of his own and quietly slipped down the hallway. Sally looked down at Tails and gently stroked his head, reassuring him with a gentle 'It's ok.' every once in a while. After a few minutes, Tails managed to pull himself together and stopped crying and pulled away from Sally and wiped his eyes. "I-I'm sorry." He said.

"Why?" Sally asked. Tails let out a sigh. "I didn't think he'd be... like that." He said, thumbing towards the room Sonic was being held in. "But I'll be okay." He said, putting a smile on. "You sure?" Sally asked. She knew he'd matured a lot in the past few years, but he still had a lot of his kid self still in him. "Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna head down and get a cup of coffee or something. Clear my head, you know?" He said. Sally nodded. "Yeah." She said. "I'll let the others know where you're going." She said. Tails gave her a salute and headed down the hall.

_Poor kid._ Sally walked back out to the waiting room and Knuckles and Shadow looked up at her. "He gonna be ok?" Knuckles asked. Sally nodded. "Yeah. Just a shock for him to see Sonic like that." Knuckles nodded. "I don't blame him. Kid's known him the longest out of all of us. It's only natural." He said, standing up. "You going in?" Sally asked. "Nah; bathroom. I'll go in when he's awake. Seems kind of weird to just sit there and watch someone sleep, ya know?" Knuckles said. Sally nodded. "Yeah, you kind of got a point there." She said. Knuckles walked down the hall, muttering something that Sally couldn't make out. She turned to Shadow.

"You gonna go in and see him, or you gonna wait until he's awake?" She asked. "I'll wait." He said. "Okay." She said, standing up and going back over to the front desk. "Oh, you know, I never did thank you for your help." She said. "Help? For what?" Shadow asked. He thought for a second, then he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, that. Don't worry about it." He said. She smiled and walked over to the front desk to find Dr. Anderson again. If it hadn't been for Shadow, they never would've found Sonic. In fact, it was a surprise that Shadow had went out of his way to help anyone to the extent he had went to, much more surprising was the fact that person was Sonic.

Sally and the others were taken aback by the gesture, but in reality, he had done it for her. Sure, he was in competition with Sonic, but he didn't like seeing her in the pain she had been in over losing him. He realized that Sonic being in the predicament he was in meant he finally could have his moment over him, finally be the one on top of the food chain for once, but once he saw the shape Sonic was in, all desire he had to prove to everyone that he was better than Sonic died at that exact moment. Shadow knew he had do something to help; and he knew it would take much more than just talk. It would take much more. The whole thing had happened by accident. He was actually looking for him to see just how far from grace Sonic had fallen.

Oh, to finally be able to say 'I'm better than you and this proves it.' How good it would feel. It wasn't a big secret that something was wrong with Sonic. Mood swings, unpredictable behavior, the almost constant fighting between him and Sally; top it off that he had went through one hell of an ordeal that only he and Sally knew and even he wasn't sure that he had told Sally much of what had happened. So, he set out to find him, and after a few days of searching and asking around, he finally found him, hiding out in a hovel deep within Metropolis. But, once he saw the truth, his wanting to reap the benefits of being able to lord the fact that he was the better of the two melted away. He knew then and there he couldn't just sit by and do nothing, even if it _was _Sonic.

He knew Sonic would need a major jolt of reality to wake him up to the hell that was around him and that hitting rock bottom was the only way for him to see it. Shadow had a few contacts that he'd kept up with over the years through various meetings and through his work with GUN, one of them happened to be living in Metropolis at the time. Since Shadow's contact wanted to keep tabs on anything that had happened with Sonic, this was a reason to call him. Shadow got up and walked outside, leaving Sally taking with Dr. Anderson. Shadow went outside and found a secluded spot and pulled his cell phone out, scrolling through his contact list. (I know this was a _very_ weak part of the plot, but I just don't feel like going back and taking it out. So if you don't like it, I won't blame you if you don't. This is what happens when you don't have someone to read these things and keep them from happening before you upload them. Sorry for rambling. Back to it then.)

"There you are." He said. He pushed the 'Dial' button and held the phone to his ear. It rang for a minute until someone picked up on the other end.

"Judge, it's me." Shadow said. "What's going on?" Judge asked. "Just letting you know that Sonic's in the hospital." Shadow said. "What? Is he OK?" Judge asked, a slight twinge of panic in his voice. "He's fine." Shadow said. "Turns out he finally came to his senses and realized he needed help. I'm just letting you know what's going on like you wanted." Shadow heard Judge breathe a sigh of relief. "So, which hospital's he in?" Judge asked. Shadow told him. "I gotta go." Shadow said. "Okay. Thanks." Judge said and Shadow hung the phone up and stuck it back in his pocket.

Shadow walked back inside and Sally was finishing up her conversation with Dr. Anderson. "So for now, we just have to wait until he wakes up, then we can go from there." Dr. Anderson said. "Thank you Doctor." Sally said. "No problem." He said, and went back into the patient area and sat down. "Where'd you go off to?" Sally asked, walking back over to where Shadow was. "The bathroom. You forget already?"

Sally turned her head and saw Knuckles rounding the corner, holding a cup of coffee in his hand; Tails followed close behind him. They both sat down and Knuckles took a small sip of his coffee. "I wasn't asking you. I was asking him." She said, pointing to Shadow. "Eh, phone rang. Had to go answer it." He said. Sally looked at Tails and saw that he had calmed down by now, which put her at ease. "So, the Doc say anything about how he's doing?" Tails asked. Sally went over everything Dr. Anderson had told her with the others. "So once he wakes up, they're going to find him a room. But for now, all we can do is wait until he wakes up." She said.

"So he's going to be all right?" Tails asked. Sally nodded. "Yup. Looks like it." She said. "Good. I just wish he'd wake up." Tails said. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Sally said. She looked up at the clock on the wall. '9:03' "I haven't eaten yet. You guys want to go and get something?" She asked. They looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, I could eat." Knuckles said. The four stood up and headed off to the cafeteria.

An Hour Later:

The four walked out of the hospital cafeteria, satisfied and feeling full. "That wasn't as bad as you'd think hospital food would be." Tails said. "That's because we're not patients. We're allowed to have the good stuff." Knuckles said. Tails laughed and let out a small burp. " 'Scuse me" He said, covering his hand with his mouth. They walked back to the waiting room and sat down, except for Sally. "I'm gonna pop in and see how he's doing." She said. The three nodded and Sally went back down the hallway.

She walked through the double doors and over to where Sonic's bed was, poking her head through the curtain. _He's still sleeping. _She thought, looking down at him. She walked through the curtain and over to his side. The monitor beeped faintly, keeping track of his heart rate. Sally watched him sleep, his chest rising and falling slowly. He was breathing normally now, not like when she'd first brought him in; she touched his forehead and it was cool to the touch. _That's good. _She thought. She remembered how hot he was when his fever was at it's worst and how scared she'd been.

She thought she was going to lose him there for a while. He looked like he had been on death's door. But now, except for the fact he was lying in a hospital bed, had wires running in every direction and looked like he weighed just over 20 lbs, he looked perfectly normal. "You sure can sleep, you know that?" Sally said, whispering in Sonic's ear. "Knuckles, Tails and Shadow're here to see you. I know, I didn't expect him to show up either, but he's changed a lot since you've been gone. Tails was in here a little while ago. He ran out crying when he saw you. Don't tell anyone I told you that, though. He'd kill me."

"I'm gonna step back out there with the others, let them know what's going on. They're probably bored outta their minds by now. I'll be back in a few minutes." She said. She leaned down, closed her eyes and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sally's heart skipped a beat, and she opened her eyes to see Sonic staring up at her through half-opened eyes. "Hey." Sonic said, smiling at her. She thought she was hearing things, but once she saw Sonic looking up at her, Sally bent down again, kissing him and wrapping her arms around him as best as she could, hugging him. "Oh, Sonic! I... I..." She trailed off, overwhelmed with emotion. "Whoa... Easy." He said, calmly; his voice was relaxed and mellow. She pulled away from him, still holding his hand. Sally kissed him gently on the lips again. Tears were falling down her face; this time though, they were tears of joy.

"Ma'am, are you Ok?" A voice asked from the other side of the privacy curtain. One of the nurses poked her head inside to see what all the noise was about. "Oh." She gasped, looking over at Sonic. "You're awake. I'll get Dr. Anderson." She said, her head disappearing from behind the curtain. Sonic looked up at Sally. "What happened? All I remember is staring up at you from the porch, I said... something, then I woke up to your voice." Sonic said.

"Good. You're awake." It was Dr. Anderson. He walked through the curtain and around to the other side of the bed. Sally sat back in the chair next to the bed and wiped her eyes. "Hi. I'm Dr. Anderson." He said, extending his hand out to Sonic. Sonic reached out and shook the Doctor's hand. "Hey." He said, eyes still half-closed and his voice nice and mellow. "Are you in any pain?" Dr. Anderson asked, reaching over and pushing the 'BP' button on the monitor and grabbing the thermometer off the wall. "No. I feel great." Sonic said, grinning. The cuff around Sonic's arm began to inflate.

"That's good." Dr. Anderson said, holding the thermometer to Sonic's temple. He pulled it away a few seconds later and mumbled something. "Fever's gone. That's good." He said, putting the thermometer back on the wall. "Well, I can tell you that for right now, you're going to be OK." *BEEP BEEP* The monitor flashed the results of the BP test and Dr. Anderson nodded. "Looks good." He said.

Sonic nodded and Sally let out a relieved sigh. "But, right now, your body is under a lot of stress. Heroin withdrawals, like all drugs, take quite a toll on the body and it takes time for it to heal and re-adjust to any kind of normalcy." Dr. Anderson took the chart hanging of Sonic's bed and wrote something down in it. "For now, I'm going to keep you on a Methadone regimen for a while, but we can't keep you on it for a long period of time though. Since it's in the same class of drugs as Morphine, you can't use it constantly since there's a chance of developing a tolerance to it, so eventually, we'll only give it to you when the pain is unbearable; but for now I'm going to keep you on it as well as the fluid drip." Sonic nodded as Dr. Anderson hung the chart back at the foot of Sonic's bed.

Sally nodded. "Okay. Um, is it OK if he has a few more visitors? I know it's important for him to rest and all," Sally said, still holding Sonic's hand. "But they haven't seen him in a while and it would mean a lot to them." Sally said. Dr. Anderson mulled the idea over in his head. "Okay. But make it quick." He said. Sally smiled. "I'll be right back." Sally said, giving Sonic a kiss on the cheek and walked through the curtain. She went through the double doors and into the waiting room. _I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave._ Knuckles and Tails were talking quietly amongst each other and Shadow was sitting next to them; he was nodding in and out of sleep and his head kept jerking up when he caught himself. Knuckles looked up and saw Sally walking toward them.

"Bout time. I thought you disappeared or something. What's up?" Knuckles asked. "Good news. He's awake." She said, smiling. The three looked at each other then smiled themselves. "So can we see him?" Tails asked eagerly. Sally nodded. "Yes. But only for a few minutes. The Doctor wants him to get rest."

Tails and Knuckles smiled and Shadow, being Shadow, didn't show any emotion at all. "C'mon." Sally said, and the four walked down the hallway and into the ER holding area. They walked up to the double doors and stopped. "Should we all go in at once or one at a time?" Knuckles asked. "Well, he did say we could all go in, but I think it would be better to go in one at a time." Sally said. "Besides, there's not a lot of room to stand around in there. It's like trying to turn around in an airplane bathroom."

"Guess we go in one at a time." Knuckles said. "So who wants to go first?" He asked. They all looked at each other, but no one made a move. "I've already seen him so I'll leave it to you guys." Sally said, walking over to the opposite wall and sitting in one of the chairs lining the wall. Knuckles and Tails debated amongst each other for a few minutes, until they reached a decision. "Guess I'll go first." Knuckles said. "Which bed is he in?"

"Straight-ahead." Sally said. Tails sat down in the chair beside Sally. Knuckles walked through the doors and Sally, Tails and Shadow watched through the window in the door as Knuckles stuck his head through the curtain and disappeared behind it. Sally turned to Tails and put her hand on his shoulder. "You gonna be OK?" She asked. Tails nodded. "Yeah. It was just, you know, seeing him lying there like that. Wires and stuff running all over the place. He shouldn't be in there. He should be out there, you know?" Tails said. Sally nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean." She said. "Did you see how much weight he's lost? He looks like a breeze would blow him away." Tails said.

Sally nodded again. She had noticed it and out of everything that was wrong with Sonic, that was what stuck out in her mind the most. "The important thing though is that we have him back." She said. *Humph.* Tails grunted. Sally glanced over at him. "How can you be so sure?" He asked. Sally let out a gentle laugh. "Because _he_ told me he was." She said. Tails looked at her and grinned.

*Blam* The three looked up and saw Knuckles walking out of the doors. "Damn man." Knuckles said, laughing. "He's back to normal." He said through the laughter. "You're in a good mood." Sally said. There was a certain air about Knuckles that made the others perk up. Tails stood up. "Guess I'm next." He said and walked through the doors. _Good luck. _Sally thought as she watched Tails go through the doors and behind the curtain.

"So what happened in there?" Sally asked. "I'll be damned if he isn't back to his old self. Cracking jokes and everything, just like old times. If it wasn't for the fact he had all those wires around him and he wasn't lying in that bed, I'd swear it was like nothing had happened." Knuckles said. _I guess he really is back. I just hope he'll stay._ Sally thought. She looked over at Shadow. "You gonna go in and see him?" She asked. She knew, like the others did, that there wasn't a lot of love between him and Sonic, and even though _he_ was the one that to everyone's surprise was the first to offer to not only find Sonic, but was the one to find out where he was, Sally like the others still didn't believe the feeling was genuine. Sally figured that there was some kind of ulterior motive behind his actions, but she hadn't picked up on anything of the sort.

*Bam* The doors swung open, hitting the wall with Tails walking toward the three. Sally noticed he was smiling, looking like he did before everything had happened. "I take it everything went well." She said. "Yup." Tails said, sitting down in a chair, smile still on his face.

"Guess I'm next." Shadow said, standing up and walking through the doors. Tails turned to Sally. "Do you know what I'd give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation?" He said. Sally and Knuckles nodded. Shadow walked out a few minutes later and the three watched as he walked over and sat down along the wall with the others. _Something about him is different._ Sally noticed that something about Shadow's demeanor had changed. He still had the same look on his face, but there was something different about him, that much she was sure of. _Is that... it is! _Sally noticed Shadow's face had the smallest hint of a smile. Shadow had never expressed emotion before and it was a surprise to her. Tails and Knuckles had noticed it too, since they were staring at him as well, like they were waiting for some kind of announcement of how the meeting between him and his eternal rival had went down. They weren't staring directly at him though, more like they were trying to figure out what had happened in there between the two of them, which was driving Shadow crazy.

"What?" He finally demanded. "Nothing." The three said quickly, looking off in other directions. Sally stood up. "Guess I'll get back in there." She said, quickly walking through the doors. "What?" Shadow demanded again, catching Tails and Knuckles staring at him again.

Sally parted the curtain and sat down in the chair again. "I don't know what you said to him, but whatever you said, he came out of here with a smile on his face." Sally said. "Really?" Sonic asked. The monitor beeped quietly behind them, followed by the sound of the BP cuff inflating again. "Yeah. I didn't think he had any emotions." She said.

They were silent for a minute until Sally reached out and took Sonic's hand again, laughing. "You know how much I've missed you?" She asked. "Bout the same as me." Sonic said. "Why did you leave?" Sally blurted the question out without even thinking. Sonic took a deep breath. He knew that she would ask that question eventually and even though she asked it without any kind of warning, he was finally ready to tell her the truth. "You remember after I got away from 'her'?" Sonic asked. "Mm-hmm." Sally nodded. "And you remember the problems I had with the pain pills she'd been forcing down me?" Sonic asked. "Mm-hmm." Sally nodded again. They both knew all too well the effects that the pills had on him.

"I left to protect you. That's why." Sonic said. "I know I did some... horrible things to you and to the others as well, but the things I did to you... I knew that day that I snapped and... hit you," Tears were starting to roll down Sally's face. "But that wasn't you. It was-" Sonic stopped her before she could finish what she was saying. "No, no. Let me finish. Please." Sally nodded and he continued. "That day, I knew that if I didn't do something about it, God only knows what might have happened. So, I grabbed a few things, threw them in a bag, and I left." Sonic felt himself begin to cry. "I left be- because I didn't want-" *Sob* "I didn't want to hurt you ..." Sonic broke down, his face twisted in a look of pain and sadness and Sally followed right behind him.

She leaned over him and the pair embraced each offering the other a comfort only they could offer each other. "Oh God. I'm sorry." Sonic said through pained, yet quiet sobs. "It's OK." Sally said softly, sobbing as well, stroking Sonic's head. "That wasn't you."

They held each other for what seemed like ages, and then Sally pulled away from him and dried her eyes. "Do you think I ever believed that you'd do what you did under your own power?" She asked. Sonic grabbed the sheet on the bed and used it to dry his eyes. "Back then, I don't know what I was thinking. But that's all behind me."

"You two all right?" The two looked up to see another nurse poking her head through the curtain. Sally nodded. "Yeah. Everything's fine." Sally said, wiping her eyes. "Have they found a room for him yet?" Sally asked. Five hours in the ER was beginning to take their toll on her and everyone else. "Yes. About five minutes ago. We just have to finish sanitizing it and everything. Standard procedure." The nurse said. She started unhooking Sonic from the monitor and laying the wires on the bed. She reached up and took the IV bag off the hangar and reached around and grabbed a metal pole that was hidden behind the headboard and pulled up on it, revealing an IV hook that was attached to the bed, which she hung the IV bag on. "Looks like your bag's almost empty. Need to ask Dr. Anderson if he wants you to have another one." She said. She finished unhooking Sonic and released the bed's brakes. "Any chance I can get these big pad things off of me?" Sonic asked. Every time he moved, the pads pulled at his skin. They weren't painful, just annoying.

"We'll have to wait until you're in your room. We have to keep those things on you until we get you in one." The nurse said, pulling the bed away from the wall enough where she could slip behind it and push. "What're they for?" Sally asked. She had noticed them, but she didn't think to ask about them until the nurse had mentioned them.

"We use them in case we have break out 'The Big Boss'." She said, pointing to a large machine sitting in the corner of the room. Sally and Sonic looked over at it at the same time and they both knew what it was. Sally had seen it used on TV on every medical drama and Sonic had experienced it first hand, although he wasn't awake for that. It was a Defibrillator. "Those big pads help deliver the current directly to the heart, improving the chances it'll restart the heart. Don't worry. We only put them on as a precaution in case something did go wrong; that way in case something goes wrong we don't have to spend extra time putting them and everything. I'll get 'em off you when we get you up there."

Sally shuddered at the thought of the machine being used on Sonic while she wheeled him out of the ER. Tails, Knuckles and Shadow looked up to see Sonic being wheeled out of the holding area. "Where they taking him?" Tails asked as they passed on by. The three began following the nurse.

"We found him a room." The nurse said. She pushed the bed down the hallway, avoiding people and maneuvering around corners that by all logic shouldn't have been able to accommodate something so large, but the nurse, who had obviously been doing this for many years, turned corners without any problems at all.

They stopped in front of an elevator, and the nurse looked over at Sally. "You mind pushing the up button, hon?" She asked. Sally nodded and she pushed the button and a minute later, the doors opened. The elevator was massive; it was used to transport patients between floors that either couldn't walk and had to remain in bed, or in Sonic's case, transported up from the ER. When the doors opened, everyone walked on, except for Tails. "What's wrong?" Knuckles asked, holding the doors open. "I'll take the next one." He said, nervously looking inside. "What floor you going up to?"

"Six." The nurse said. Tails reached over and pressed the button for the next elevator. "See you there." He said. Knuckles shrugged his shoulders and the doors closed. "Claustrophobic?" Knuckles asked. "Yeah." Sally said. Once they had reached their destination, and Tails had rejoined them, they headed toward Sonic's room. They walked in and the first thing they noticed was how nice the room was. It wasn't your normal, everyday hospital room. The walls were subdued colors, warm hues of blue and green; pleasant to the eye and calming to the soul. It was a private room, overlooking a pond that the hospital had recently finished installing, complete with fountain; the walls had several paintings hanging on them. Mostly nature scenes. Winter landscapes, frozen ponds, mountains covered with snow and fog, bathed in a beautiful dark blue sky.

"Damn." Knuckles said looking up towards the ceiling. Hanging on the wall was a very nice and very expensive flat screen TV, complete with DVD player and from what he could tell, either a cable or Satellite TV hook up running to the back of it. "Nice digs." He said. The nurse pushed Sonic inside and maneuvered him against the wall and began hooking the leads back up to a new monitor. Since he had been pushed inside the room head first, he finally got to see what he was going to be calling home. "Damn." He said, taking in his surroundings. _I'll be damned._ He thought, looking up at the TV. The irony of there being a DVD player in his room was not lost on him and he laughed. "Something funny?" Sally asked. Sonic shook his head. "Just remembered a joke I heard a couple of days ago." He said.

"Okay. You're all hooked up." The nurse said. She reached up and plugged something into the wall behind the bed and handed it to Sonic. "This controls the TV, this one controls the bed, and that button there calls the nurse's station." She said, pointing to a large red button on the bottom of the remote. "Phone's over there in case you need it." She said, reaching over and pushing a button on the wall. "Nurses station." A voice said through a speaker. "It's Martha. I just finished moving the new patient into room 26. Can you notify Dr. Anderson?" She asked. "No problem." The voice answered back. "Thank you." The nurse said. "Well folks, I'll be back later. Just hit the button if you need me, hon. Ask for Martha." The nurse said. "Thank you." Sonic said as the nurse walked out the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Martha said, quickly walking back into the room. She went over to the side of the bed. "Need to get those pads off you." She said. "You want it slow or quick?" Martha asked. "Eh, just get it over with. "Okay." Martha said. She grabbed a corner of one and, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, she pulled down on it. "Nnnngh!" Sonic groaned as the pad felt like it had ripped half his skin off.

"Sorry." Martha said, grabbing the other one. "Nnnngggghhhhhh!" Sonic groaned again; this time, only half the pad came off. Martha grabbed it again and gave it a final yank. "Nnnnnnngnggggggggghhhhh!" Sonic groaned in pain as it finally came off, leaving large red marks where they had been. "Sorry." Martha repeated.

"You sure my nipples didn't go with them?" He asked, laughing. The room burst out laughing, then it subsided. Martha tossed the pads into the trash and reached into a closet and pulled out a gown for him to put on. "Should've given you this before I hooked you back up. Sorry. Been a busy day." She said, unhooking the leads off the small pads on Sonic's body. Once they had been taken off, Sonic stood up to put the gown on. Everyone that was watching turned around when he stood up. It wasn't just because he was in his underwear; it was because Sonic looked like a walking skeleton. Sally had noticed that he looked like he was severely underweight while he was lying in the bed and now that he was standing, it looked even worse. _How the hell can he even stand up?_ She thought. "Done." Sonic said. The others turned around and saw Sonic getting back in bed; Martha reconnecting the leads to the monitor.

*Knock Knock* The others turned around to see Dr. Anderson poking his head into the door. "I see they finally found you a room. How you feeling?" He asked Sonic. "Bout the same since you last saw me." Sonic said. "Any pain, numbness, headaches?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic shook his head. "No." He said. Martha reached up and turned on the monitor and once it began picking up his vitals, it began beeping. She reached up and pushed a button and the beeping stopped. "Thanks. That beeping was driving me crazy." Sonic said. "Well up here you won't have to hear it. We monitor everyone from the nurse's station." Martha said, turning around and heading out of the room.

"Can you get another Methadone drip, 10 mg?" Dr. Anderson asked. Martha nodded and walked out of the room. "So where does everything go from here?" Sally asked. "Well, Dr. Anderson said. "Now that he's in a room, either today or tomorrow we're going to run some tests." Dr. Anderson said. "Tests? What kind?" Sonic asked. "Today, I'm going to order some more blood work; um... I have to ask this, but since some of you aren't family, I have to." Dr. Anderson turned toward Sonic. "Is it OK if I discuss your treatment in front of them?" He asked. "Of course." He said. "Okay. Heroin is a very dangerous drug like I said and we don't know what kind of effect it took on you. And in order to make sure your body is OK, I'm afraid you're going to be having a lot of tests done in the next day or two." Sally looked over at Sonic, but he had his usual, calm look on his face; she took his hand and he squeezed it and she squeezed back. "What's the blood work for?" Sonic asked.

"That is just standard procedure. Looking for any inconsistencies or anything out of the ordinary. Specifically, kidney and liver problems. I don't think we'll find anything wrong with them, but I don't want to take any chances. Might do a urinalysis as well. The main thing we have to worry about is your heart." Sally's heart skipped a beat when the Doctor said that, and she noticed the other three didn't take those words so well either. "So, I'm going to send out for a consult with the Cardiology department. I can tell you right now that there going to want an EKG readout along with an Ultrasound as well." Dr. Anderson wrote something down in the chart.

"Ultrasound? Really?" Sonic asked. Hearing that made him a little nervous. Dr. Anderson nodded. "Yeah. We also use it to check out the heart, make sure it's pumping normally and everything. They might want to send you down to the Cath Lab, I'm not sure. We're definitely going to start the blood work today though. Might be a little late to get everything else started today, but hopefully we can get some of it done and out of the way." Dr. Anderson looked up from the chart he was holding.

"That's about it for right now, so the Lab should be up here in a minute to draw some more blood then I want you to get some rest." Dr. Anderson said. The others nodded, and even though they didn't want to leave, they knew it was best for Sonic at the moment. Dr. Anderson turned to walk out the door when Sonic stopped him. "Wait, Doc." Sonic said. Dr. Anderson stopped and looked over at Sonic. "Something wrong?" He asked. "Um, you guys mind stepping out for a second?" Sonic asked, looking at the four of them. They looked at each other then down at Sonic. "You OK?" Sally asked. "What's wrong?" Tails asked, his voice peppered with concern.

Sonic smiled. "I'm fine. I just need to ask him something and it's private, you know?" Sonic said. They nodded in agreement and they turned to walk out the door, except for Sally. "Me too?" She asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. But it'll only be for a minute." He said. She squeezed his hand again. "Okay. I'll step out, but _only_ because you asked." Sally didn't want to leave, but she gave him a small kiss and walked over to the door and Dr. Anderson shut the door behind them.

He walked over to Sonic's bedside. He knew when a patient wanted to talk to a Doctor privately, it was for something serious. "What's the problem?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic adjusted his position on the bed. He was shaking and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Well, doc," He said. "I was wondering if you might be able to... um... test me for STD's." Sonic said.

In his time in Metropolis, and under the circumstances, he had had a lot of unprotected sex and he knew that in that line of work, there were certain things that he knew he might have contracted. "I see." Dr. Anderson said. He opened the chart again and nodded. "Okay. I take it you want to keep this between you and me." He said. Sonic nodded. "Oh yeah."

"Okay, I'll order up a STD test just to be safe. And since that's the case, I'll order an AIDS/HIV test as well. Have you been having vaginal sex in the past year?" Dr. Anderson asked. "No." Sonic said. "Anal? That includes women as well as men." Dr. Anderson asked. "No." Sonic said. "Hmm." He muttered. "Oral?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

"I was going to say it's a little odd for a patient to ask for an STD test and say no to the first couple of questions. Okay. Since you said no to the first two questions, that rules out a couple that you can contract." Dr. Anderson set the chart down on the table next to the bed and grabbed a pair of gloves off the wall and pulled them on, then grabbed the small light off the wall. "Can you open your mouth for me?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic did what he asked and Dr. Anderson shined the light around inside Sonic's mouth and pulled it out a few seconds later. "Well, that looks good. I don't think you have herpes or anything like that." He said.

"Okay. Has anyone performed oral sex on you in the past year?" Sonic shook his head. "No." He felt weird being asked these questions, but he knew that if they were being asked, they were important. "Have you noticed any kind of bumps or sores around you penis?" Dr. Anderson asked. "No. Not recently." Sonic said. Dr. Anderson wrote down more in the chart when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Dr. Anderson called out. "Lab." A voice on the other side said. "C'mon in." Dr. Anderson said, and the door opened up. A woman walked in carrying a basket filled with needles, vials, tubing and other assorted instruments. She set it down on the bed between Sonic's feet. "Careful of the IV." Dr. Anderson said. "Sorry." She said, quickly moving it over to one side. "My name's Lisa and I guess you know why I'm here, don't you?" She asked. Sonic nodded. "Well the bucket of sharp things is kind of a dead giveaway." He said.

Dr. Anderson leaned closer to her. "Go ahead and get a Renal function panel, a basic Metabolic panel, run a Hepatitis panel, a HIV/AIDS panel plus an STD panel. And get a saliva culture as well." Dr. Anderson said.

"You guys don't want much, do you?" He said. Dr. Anderson laughed. "Don't worry. It's not as much as you think." He said, pulling a vial out of the bucket. It was about two inches in length. "We only need about three of these." Lisa said, rummaging through the basket she had laid on the bed between Sonic's feet. "Basically," Dr. Anderson said to Sonic, "These blood tests will check your liver and kidneys to make sure they're functioning properly, and the saliva culture will check and see if you have any strain of the herpes virus."

Lisa picked up Sonic's arm to draw the blood she needed, then after seeing the marks on it, set it down. "Let's try the other one." She said, reaching over and grabbing Sonic's other arm. After seeing it was in the same condition as the other one, she set it back down too. "So where is his IV?" She asked Dr. Anderson. "We had to put it in his foot." Dr. Anderson said. Lisa pulled the blanket back to reveal Sonic's legs. Sticking out of his foot was the IV needle. "Okay. Not a problem." She said, reaching into the basket and pulling out a few things; alcohol swabs, something that looked like a large syringe without the plunger, a petri dish and cotton swabs and a couple of vials.

Lisa pulled a pair of rubber gloves on and ripped open an alcohol swab and pulled out the tiny square of cotton; the room filled with the faint scent of rubbing alcohol. She rubbed it on Sonic's foot, then she laid it down on the bed and began tapping the top of his foot until the veins began popping up on the surface. Once one did, she grabbed one of the giant needles and pressed it against Sonic's skin. "This might sting." Lisa said. _Not like I haven't felt it before._ She pushed it through and the needle went into the vein. It hurt, but Sonic had stuck himself enough by now that he didn't even flinch. Once she had the needle in, she grabbed one of the vials and stuck it inside the needle where the plunger was supposed to go and pushed down on it until it clicked, then she twisted it. Once the unit had clicked, blood quickly began filling the vial.

"That's cool." Sonic said as he watched the vial fill up. Once it was full, Lisa twisted the vial in the opposite direction and pulled it out. "Yeah. It's a lot easier than it used to be." She said, repeating the process three more times. Once she had finished, she pulled the needle out of Sonic's foot, pressed a cotton ball over the area and taped it in place. Grabbing a swab off the bed, she unwrapped it and held it in front of her. "Can you open your mouth?" She asked. Sonic complied and she ran it around his mouth a couple of times, then opened the petri dish and ran the swab over something that looked like red wax, then tossed the swab in the trash and closed the dish and wrote something down on it and stuck it in the bucket along with the blood samples.

"And that's it." She said. "Did you give me the order form?" She asked Dr. Anderson. As he was thumbing through Sonic's chart, he pulled out a page from inside it and handed it to her. "Here you go." He said. Lisa put it inside the basket and picked it up. "Thanks." Sonic said, smiling.

"No problem." Lisa said, picking up the basket and walking out of the room. "Any idea when the results will be back?" Sonic asked. "Shouldn't be more than an hour." Dr. Anderson said. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic thought for a second. "Not right now." He said, yawning.

"Okay. Let's get this over with, then you can get some sleep." Sonic nodded. He felt exhausted, even though he had been in bed for most of the day. The withdrawals had taken a lot out of him and even though he wanted to see his friends some more, he wanted to sleep even more. "The last thing I need to do is listen to your heart and lungs." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic nodded and pulled his gown away from his body. Dr. Anderson pulled out his stethoscope and placed it on Sonic's chest. "Breathe normally." He said.

Sonic did what he was told, and Dr. Anderson moved the stethoscope around. "Okay. Can you lean forward?" He asked. Once again, Sonic complied and Dr. Anderson repeated the action with the stethoscope around on his back for a minute, then pulled it away and told Sonic to lay back down. "Good news is your lungs are clear and from what I can tell, you're heart sounds like it's beating normally, but I'd still rather Cardiology take a look at you just to be safe."

"Cool." Sonic said. The Doctors words took some of the edge off about what he was going through. "I'll go ahead and let the others come back in now." Dr. Anderson said, walking over to the door. He stuck his head out. A few seconds later, the others streamed into the room. "So what was that all about?" Sally asked, going back to his bedside. "I'll tell you later." Sonic said.

They talked for a few more minutes, then, even though they didn't want to, they knew it was time for them to leave. "Okay. If I can't hang around here with you, I'm gonna head back home. " Knuckles said. He walked over to the side of the bed. He held his hand out and Sonic shook it. "See ya tomorrow." Knuckles said as he headed out the door. "See ya." Sonic said.

Shadow walked over to Sonic next. "Don't stay in here too long. It's been boring as hell not having you around to show up all the time." He said, grinning. "Yeah, yeah." Sonic said, grinning as well. "I'll have to prove you wrong when I get out of here. Just like always." Sonic said. Shadow reached the door, and stopped inside the door and turned toward Sonic. "Okay. Cat loves food." He said, giving his little smirk then walking out.

Sally stood there shaking her head. "I swear, you two have the oddest friendship I've ever seen." She said. Tails was next. "You know, when you get out of here, we're gonna have to take the Tornado up. I've been keeping up the maintenance on it. If you feel like it." He said. "You still have that? I thought you got rid of her years ago." Sonic said. Tails shook his head. "Nah. I thought about it a few years back, but I couldn't bring myself around to do it, ya know?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I would've killed you if you did." He said. Tails leaned down and gave Sonic a hug. "_Do you know how much I've missed you?" _Tails asked, squeezing a little tighter. Sonic could hear Tails voice begin to crack. "Hey, hey. I've missed you too." Sonic said. He squeezed back and Sonic could feel Tails' shoulders begin to heave. "_You're not gonna leave again, are you?" _He asked; he was beginning to lose it again.

"No. No. I'm here to stay." Sonic said, rubbing Tails' back, trying to comfort him as best he could. He looked over at Sally. He saw her eyes were wet, but she wasn't crying. She had that 'That's so sweet!' look on her face. She walked around to the side that Tails was on and put her arm around him as well. "Don't worry hon. If he tries to leave, he'll regret it." She said.

Tails' sobs began to quiet down. "I'm sorry." He said, finally pulling away, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Don't worry about it." Sally said. "Okay. I'm gonna go before I lose it again." Tails said and Sally walked him over to the door. Tails waved to Sonic, Sonic waved back and Tails walked out the door. Sally walked back over to where Sonic was and sat down. "I guess he still has some growing up to do." She said, sitting down beside Sonic.

"Yeah. You feel OK? You look exhausted." Sonic said. Sally yawned. The clock on the wall said it was after one and Sally yawned. "I'm a little tired, but I'll be OK." She said. "Did the Doctor say when they were gonna do all those tests?" She asked. "He said they're gonna try to get them out of the way today, but he also said not to hold him to that. He said they're pretty backed up today." Sonic said.

"Sounds like a hospital." Sally said. "What about the blood tests?" Sonic shifted in the bed. "They should be back in a couple of hours or so. He did listen to my lungs and heart though. Said I was breathing good and from what he could tell, it didn't sound like there was anything wrong with my ticker, but he still wants to have the other tests done just to be safe." Sonic said.

"I'm with him on this one." Sally said. She was surprised that Sonic had been as calm as he had been. The last time she had seen him, she knew that trying to drag him back and forcing him to get help wouldn't have accomplished a damn thing. But, just like she had said, he was the only one that could get him the help he needed and she had been right.

A while later:

While they waited for Sonic's test results to come back, Sally finally got a chance to talk to Sonic. It wasn't that she hadn't had the chance to, it was because they were alone now, and didn't have to worry about Tails, Knuckles and Shadow eavesdropping. She knew they all wanted to ask Sonic the same questions she did, but she knew that once he was ready to open up, he would; and Sonic would be the one to decide what to tell them.

Of course, she had more than a few burning questions on her mind. What had he been doing during his time away, besides the drugs? Where had he been living while he was in Metropolis? How did he make a living? But she knew there was a time and a place for those kind of questions, and it wasn't that particular moment. Right now, all she was concerned about was that he was safe and doing OK.

"Didn't they say your test results were supposed to be coming back soon?" Sally asked. Sonic shrugged. "They did, but it's a hospital. They're always backed up." He said. Sonic looked over and noticed Sally yawning. _She's been here..._ Sonic looked over at the clock on the wall and began counting. _Shit. She needs to go home and get some rest. _Sonic thought about saying something to her about it, but he knew she wouldn't go for it; not until his test results came back at least. "You OK?" He asked. Sally nodded. "Yeah. I-"

*Knock knock* The pair looked up to see Dr. Anderson poking his head through the door. "Am I interrupting?" He asked. "Nah." Sonic said, grabbing the remote for the bed and raising the head. The Doctor was carrying a folder in his hands. "Got your test results." He said, walking over to the foot of the bed. Sally looked his face over for any sign that would give her a heads-up on what they were, but like all Doctors, he had a great poker face.

"So what's the verdict?" Sonic asked. Dr. Anderson opened the folder and thumbing through it. "Well, good news is, everything came out OK. Renal function, Metabolic panel, they all came out good. Liver's running well, Kidneys are great, so I'm not going to order a urinalysis. We still need Cardiology to run their tests, and if those clear, we can go ahead and get you fixed up." Inside, Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. Dr. Anderson closed the folder up and tucked it under his arm. "Now, I need to ask you, since you do have a heroin addiction, do you want to get clean?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Yes." Sonic said, nodding his head. "I'll tell you this right now; it's not going to be a walk in the park. Kicking an addiction is a lengthy process that will take time and an extraordinary amount of effort on your part." Sonic nodded again. "I don't care. I came here to get help and that's what I'm gonna do." Sonic said. Sally smiled. Some of the old Sonic was beginning to surface again and it eased some of her worry if he was serious about getting help.

"Okay. In that case, once your other tests are out of the way, we can get you on a rehab regimen. But for now, go ahead and get some rest. Doctor's orders." He said. "Do I need to leave?" Sally asked. She didn't want to, but she knew that she wouldn't have a choice if the Doctor told her that she couldn't. "No. Since your technically family, you can stay as long as you want." Dr. Anderson said. Inside, Sally was doing the biggest squee ever done. "Is it OK if I run home and come back?" She asked. Dr. Anderson shrugged. "Sure. The visitation rules are really for non-family. But you're more than welcome to stay." He said. Sally stood up. "I'm gonna run home and take a quick shower and change clothes. I'll be back in a little while." She said, bending down and giving Sonic a kiss. _God, I missed that._ Sonic thought as they parted. "Oh, when you go back, I had a duffel bag with me that I had to leave behind on the side of the road a little ways from the house. It shouldn't be too far down the road. Do you think you could take a look around for it?" Sonic asked. Most of his clothes were in that bag and he didn't know if Sally had kept any of the clothes he'd left behind. Of course, he didn't blame her if she tossed them out for whatever reason she had if she did. He would've deserved it after all.

"Sure." She said. "I'll be back in about an hour. I love you." She said. "I love you too." Sonic said as she walked out of the room. Sonic waited for a few minutes to make sure she wasn't going to come back then he asked the Doctor about his STD test.

"Oh, those? Yeah, they came back clean." Dr. Anderson said without even looking through the chart. "Oh!" He exclaimed. _You gotta be fucking kidding me! "You sure?" Sonic asked. He wasn't sure if he had heard the Doctor right. Unprotected sex, no matter who it was with, was like playing a dangerous game of Russian Roulette and all six chambers were loaded. Somehow, in some way, he had the one chamber that had a blank in it._

"_I'm sure. We run our tests twice just to be sure." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic was laughing on the inside; the pressure he had been under was finally released and he felt like a new man. "That's fucking great." He said. "Sorry."_

"_Don't be. I've heard worse before. Well, since that's out of the way, I want you to try to get some rest. OK?" Dr. Anderson said. Sonic nodded. He was completely wiped out and he had been forcing himself to stay awake because of the others. He wanted to see them just as bad as they did, but now that Sally was the only one that would be coming back, he knew that she wouldn't mind if he was asleep when she came back. "You got it. Thanks, Doc." Sonic said. Dr. Anderson took a step out then turned back to Sonic. "I almost forgot. The Methadone drip you're on right now will be the last one for a while. We can't give you another one for at least twelve hours just to let you know." He said. Sonic nodded. "I'll tell you, that stuff is magic." Sonic said. "But once you go off of it, the withdrawals will return, but if they do and if the twelve hours are up, we'll just give you another shot of the stuff." Dr. Anderson said. "So, how does it work exactly?" Sonic asked. To him, it felt just like a normal heroin dose._

"_Like I said, it's kind of like Morphine in the sense it kills the pain, but it blocks the receptors in your brain that crave the drug and helps you flush it all out of your system." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic nodded. "Cool. Thanks Doc." He said. Dr. Anderson gave him a small salute and walked out of the room and closed the door just enough so it was open a crack. _

_Sonic looked around. His life was completely different than it was twenty four hours ago. Yesterday at three, he was living in a run down hovel. Now he was in a hotel room compared to his last digs. Sonic reached over for the remote and turned on the TV for the first time that day. He was asleep in a few minutes._

_A/N: Again, if I don't reply to your review in time, remember, I can only check E-mail from my phone and since I can't access the FF website from it, I have to wait until I can get to an actual computer to respond. And if there isn't a reply link in the review, you have to wait until the next chapter. Also, I took a look back at Chapter 17 and where I said it was time to wind it down, I didn't mean to wind down the entire story, just that particular point of the story. I guess it doesn't help that I only get a chance to write these late at night. I know it would help if I did it earlier in the day, but that option isn't available to me. Also, I can't check to see if Shadow has any connection with GUN, so can someone tell me if he does or not. I know I'll probably forget the next time I get a chance to check. Thanks._


	20. Chapter 20: Recovery

Chapter 20: Recovery

Rated T

Mark 'Speedy' Reddington: Thanks for clearing up that question about Shadow for me.

_I hope he's still awake._ Sally thought as she stepped off the elevator. Walking down the long corridor, she rounded the final corner and headed for his room. She knew that Sonic had been fighting sleep for the last five hours she and the others had been with him. Of course, Sonic having the Methadone pumped into his system wasn't exactly a caffeine boost.

When she had arrived back at the house, the first thing she did was go looking for his duffel bag just like he had asked. She found it just a few hundred feet from the house and when she bent down to pick it up, she realized just how heavy it had been on him. In his condition, she was surprised that he was even able to carry it.

"Jesus!" She said when she tried to pick it up. Sally readied herself and tried again, this time she was able to pick it up and sling it over her back as she carried it up to the house and set it on the porch while she unlocked the door. "How the hell he managed to carry that thing all the way from Metropolis to here and in the shape he was in is beyond me." She said to herself as she unlocked the door. She managed to get the door open, carried it into the house and set it on the couch. She turned around and closed the door and locked it behind her, setting her keys on the peg hanging by the door.

Sally hopped into the shower and the stress of the day melted away. A hot shower always did the trick; a bath would've done even more for her, but she didn't have the time for one. Once she was done, she dressed and grabbed a few thing's she would need while she was staying in the hospital with him: Phone charger, a few bucks in case she needed it and a change of clothes. She tossed everything in a bag, shoved the money in her purse and started to head out the door.

She walked over to the front door and went to grab her keys off the peg when she stopped. *Sniff sniff* "What the..." She trailed off. There was something in the air that, at first she couldn't identify, then she found out what was causing it. The bag she had set on the couch. She hadn't noticed it while she was outside, but now that it was in an enclosed space, it began giving off a distinct odor.

"Oh, God." She said, choking ever so slightly. "Please tell me he doesn't have a dead body in there." She said, gingerly reaching out for the bag. She grabbed it and she power walked back to the laundry room and set the bag down on the washing machine. _Don't tell me he didn't get a chance to wash his clothes the whole time he was gone. _She didn't want to do it. Oh God how she didn't want to, but if she knew she couldn't just leave it there. So, she took the zipper in her hand and taking a final breath, she unzipped it.

"Oh, jeez!" She yelped, recoiling back in horror. Months and months worth of dirty, unwashed clothes halfway spilled out of the open bag, partially being held back by a dirty, lime-green blanket; there was the faint smell of mildew mixed in as well. Little did she know he had only been able to wash them in cold water, which didn't exactly sanitize them. "Oh, I can't leave these here." She said. Sally moved a pair of pants out of the way and saw that there was a blanket stuffed inside. She reached in and pulled it out and, once the blanket had been removed, it was like a Dam had been broken and the clothes that were underneath the blanket were exposed to the air. The smell was incredible; Sally stepped back, her head actually spinning from it. She looked around and grabbing a can of disinfectant and a can of air freshener, she sprayed them toward the mountain of horror on top of the washing machine.

Sally knew she was going to be late getting back but this took precedent at the moment. Now that the smell had been drowned out by chemicals and fruit scented spray, she began throwing everything into the washer; she didn't even bother to sort it. In her mind, it was all evil and the evil had to be purged. Luckily for her, it was a large washer and she was able to stuff everything inside; blanket included. She threw in some soap, shut the lid and turned the washer on. "I'll worry about drying it tomorrow. Now what do I do with you?" She asked, holding the offending bag in her hands.

But, something about it was off. It still had some weight to it. So, she set it back down on the washer and reached in. She felt something hard inside and grabbing hold of it, pulled it out. "Oh my God..." She said. Inside, was the picture of her and Sonic, taken the day that they had bought the house. It was back when he was still writing his books. In fact, at the time the picture was taken, he had just released the final 'Misery' book before his disappearance. It wasn't the final book in the series though. That particular book was the second to last one. The final one he had started writing a couple of months after the previous one was released. The final book was still technically a work in progress since he had left to finish it at the mountain cabin he rented every time he was about to finish a book, but it was never released due to obvious reasons. Sally had asked him what had happened to it, but Sonic couldn't remember.

"I can't believe he had this." She said, staring at the picture in her hands, memories of happier times coming back to her. She was sitting in the grass, under a giant walnut tree in the front yard, he was behind her, arms draped around her neck, winking into the camera like he always did. Sally walked into the kitchen and set it on the counter. "I guess he never forgot about me." She said.

Once the wave of nostalgia had passed, she reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and headed toward the front door, grabbing the bag with the few things she was taking with her and taking her keys off the wall. "After six. I doubt he's even awake." She said, reaching over and tapping a few buttons on a small screen next to the door. Tails had the house wired to make things easier on Sally so all she had to do to turn the lights on when she walked in, activate the alarm or anything like that, she could do it with the touch pad.

She set it to away, which turned the TV and certain lights on and off every thirty minutes so it would look like someone was home while she was away and locked the door behind her. Unlocking the car and tossing the bag into the backseat, she climbed in and started the car up. "Damn." She said as the wind picked up, causing a chill to blow through her. Winter in that part of Mobius was especially cold. One, it was out in the country which meant there were no buildings or cement/asphalt to hold in the heat of the day which equated to colder nights. Two, it was the dead of winter. Sally flipped the heater on and in less than a minute, the car began to warm up. "That's better." She said, smiling.

She buckled in, put a CD in the CD player, Classical this time, and backed out of the driveway and headed back to the hospital. Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' had just finished when she pulled into the hospital parking lot. She shut the car off and reached over and grabbed her phone. She scrolled down to where it said 'SEND TEXT' and she hit the button and sent a mass text to Tails, Knuckles and Shadow: HE'S DOING FINE, TEST'S CAME BACK OK!

She sent it and stuck the phone in her pocket. Since the hospital didn't allow anyone to make calls inside and she didn't want to stand out in the cold and tell them the same thing three times, text message was the best option. Sally grabbed the bag out of the back, locked the car up and headed toward the entrance. Of course, before she reached the door, her phone started vibrating. She didn't need psychic powers to know who they were from. She decided to look at them when she got settled in.

Sally walked through the doors and got in the elevator and took it up to the sixth floor. _I hope he's still awake._ Sally thought as she stepped off the elevator. Walking down the long corridor, she rounded the final corner and headed for his room. It was seven when she walked through the door to his room, and like she thought, he was asleep. _He looks a lot better than he did when he first came in here._ She thought as she watched him sleep. She set the bag down on a small counter that was on the opposite side of the room as quietly as she could and basically tip-toed over to his bed side. He wasn't just asleep, he was _out._

She knew that nothing short of a bomb was going to wake him up, and that meant she didn't have to be as quiet as she first thought. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and went through her messages.

Once she got that out of the way, Sally set her phone down on the small roll-away table and turned toward Sonic. The light behind the bed had two florescent light's in it and when you turned it on, the top came on, push the button again and the bottom light turned on, push it again and both lit up; push it a final time and they both turned off. The top one was on, which cast a dim glow in the room. There was one above the bed that was used by the staff to check the patients over but that one would've been way too bright. She reached over and pushed the button for the light behind the bed and they both came on.

Now that there was more light in the room, she went to unpack the bag she had brought with her when she noticed something different about Sonic. When he was brought in and she got her first look at him, she noticed that his face looked sunken in and she could just make out the outline of his skull. Now it looked filled out and full of life; the color had retuned to his face as well. He looked more normal at the moment than he had all day.

She wondered about the marks on his arm and the bruising on his body, but she didn't want to wake him just so she could satisfy her curiosity. She decided to wait until she saw the Doctor again and ask him. Once she had unpacked everything, which took a grand total of a minute, she got up and went out the door, looking for the nurses station.

Sally walked out the door, and headed back toward the elevators. Across from them was the nurses station. There were a couple of nurses working, one monitoring a screen with at least 10 different readouts of various patients vital signs. The other was filing paperwork into a large shelf that was lined with folders, some a few inches thick.

Sally leaned on the desk and waited while file nurse was done doing what she was doing. "Oh, can I help you? I'm sorry if I kept you waiting." File nurse said in a cheery, yet apologetic voice. "It's fine. Yeah, I was wondering how my boyfriend was doing. Name's Sonic, room 26." Sally said. "Let's see. What's his nurses name?" File nurse asked.

"Uh... Martha. I think." Sally said. File nurse sat down and hit a few keys on the computer in front of her. "Oh, yes. Let me get her." File nurse said, reaching over and grabbing a phone. She pushed a button and held it up to her head. "Martha, you're needed at nurses station 2." She sat the phone back down on the desk. "It'll be a minute." File nurse said.

"Thanks." Sally said and waited for his nurse. A few minutes later, she saw Martha come around the corner. "Hey, you're back." She said, cheerful smile on her face. "Hey." She said. Sally extended her hand and Martha shook it. "You're with... 26, right?" Martha asked. "Yeah. How's he doing?" Sally asked.

Martha walked around the massive desk and looked through a stack of folders. "Here it is." She said, grabbing a file. "Let's see. For right now, he's stable and doing fine. Dr. Anderson took him off the Methadone drip for now; he's still dehydrated thought, so he's still on the fluid drip. BP, fever, all that's been perfect, so that's no longer an issue. Tests were OK. He's doing just fine." Martha said, setting the file back down on the desk.

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't anything that she hadn't already heard, but it was still comforting to hear. "What about the marks on his arms?" Sally asked. "Oh, those. Should heal up within a week or two. Once the veins in his arm repair, you won't even know they were there." Martha said. "Are you going to be staying the night here?" She asked.

"Y-yeah." Sally replied. Even though she had been told it was OK, she still felt weird about the whole idea. "That's fine. We'll bring in a recliner in for you. Anything else?"

Sally shook her head. "Nah. That's about it. Thanks." Sally said, turning around and heading back to Sonic's room. She sat back down in the chair, and turned her attention to him. _I still can't believe you're here. Guess Christmas came early. _*Beep* The monitor above the bed quietly let out a lone beep, then there was a low humming sound as the BP cuff around his arm began inflating. He stirred slightly as it fully inflated, but he didn't wake up. A minute later, she heard the cuff deflate and she looked up at the screen: 104/79.

_Good. _Since she was going to be with him the whole night, she reached over and grabbed the remote for the TV. She pressed the button and the screen turned on, then she heard the faint sound coming out of the remote. _What the..._ She wondered. At the top was a series of tiny holes; the TV's speakers had been rerouted from the set itself and to the remote so it never went too loud. Sally leaned back, flipped through the channels until she found something interesting, laid the remote on her shoulder and leaned back in the chair.

*Knock Knock* The feint sound of a knock at the door caused her to glance over and she saw Martha pushing a recliner through the door. It wasn't a plush one like Sally thought it would be. It looked like stripped down version of a normal recliner, minus the soft cotton and fabric cover; that was replaced by rather generous padding, wrapped in pink leather. "Here you go." Martha whispered. Sally stood up and moved the chair she had been sitting in out in front of the bed and pushed the recliner into it's place. "Thanks." She said, sitting down. To her surprise, it was a _lot_ more comfortable than she thought it would be.

Martha walked over to her and leaned in close. "Before I go for the night, Dr. Anderson wanted to get one more round of blood test's and a urinalysis from him, so they should be in here at any time." Martha said. Sally nodded. "Is something wrong?" Sally asked. "No." Martha whispered. "He just wants to be sure everything's OK. And the nurse for the night shift should be coming on in about an hour, so this'll be the last time you see me until tomorrow." Martha told her.

"Thanks Martha." Sally said. "No problem." She said, turning around and leaving the room. '10:21' The wall clock said. It was nearing her bedtime and she reached down and pulled the lever back and the chair laid back. Sally stretched out and once she had gotten comfortable, she was finally able to relax.

Some time later:

"Sir?" Sally woke up to a voice softly calling out to Sonic. She opened her eyes and saw a man standing on the other side of the bed, looking down at Sonic. She also noticed the basket full of needles and tubes. "Sir?" He called out again. Sally sat up and he looked over at her. "Did I wake you?" He asked. She shook her head. "Nah." She said, lying to him. But it didn't bother her.

"I take it you're here to draw some blood?" She asked. "Yes, ma'am. My name's Mark." He said, sticking out his hand. Sally shook it. "Hi." She said. "Is this Mr.," Mark said, looking over various vials in the basked. "Huh. I don't have his last name marked down." He said. "Oh, he doesn't have one." Sally said. "Everyone just calls him Sonic." She said.

"He doesn't have one?" Mark asked. "I thought Sonic was a nickname or something like that." He said.

"Nope." She said. "Okay." Mark said, grabbing a couple of vials out of the bucket along with a cup. He laid them down on the bed and grabbed an IV rig out along with the rest of the stuff necessary for drawing blood. "Sir?" Mark said again, gently shaking Sonic. "Let me try." Sally said. Mark took a step back and Sally grabbed Sonic's hand. "Hey." She said softly, squeezing his hand at the same time.

Sonic stirred and blinked a couple of times, then opened his eyes. "Hey." He said once he saw who it was that had awaken him. "Hey." Sally said. "Hate to wake you up, but they need some more of your blood." She said. Sonic looked over and saw Mark standing on the other side of the bed. "You woke me up for this?" He said in a deadpan tone. Mark laughed. "Sorry. Doctor's orders." He said.

Mark went to work, unwrapping things and sterilizing that. Sonic turned to Sally. "I thought you went back home." He said. "I did." She said. "Really? How long was I out?" He wondered, looking up at the clock. "Wow. Six hours? Guess that stuff really knocks you out." He said. *Sssss* He sharply inhaled as he felt the needle going into his foot. "Sorry." Mark said without looking up. "That was fun." Sonic said.

It was over as quick as it had began, as Mark had gotten the blood he needed and set them inside the basket. "Oh, before I go, do you think you could fill this?" Mark asked, holding the cup out to Sonic. Sonic took it and held it in his hand. "I can try." He said, taking off the cap. He grinned. "Think you might be able to help me out?" He asked Sally, smirking and giving her a wink. Her face turned three shades of red and Mark laughed. "What's wrong with you?" She demanded, slapping him lightly on the arm and giving him a 'I can't believe you said that' look. "What? Just thought I'd ask." He said. "Yeah, give me a minute." He said. Sally and Mark turned around and Sonic took the cup under the blanket and did his thing. "Does it matter how full it is?" He asked. "Just do the best you can." Mark said. "That should do it." Sonic said.

Sally and Mark turned around and Sonic had already capped the cup and handed it to Mark. He took it and stuck it in the bucket along with the tubes of blood. _That's not right._ Sally noticed the color of his urine was dark.

"Thank you." Mark said, grabbing his bucket and walking out of the room. "Can you hand me that thing of water?" Sonic asked, looking over at the roller table next to the bed. On it was a pitcher of water that was there for the patients to drink so they didn't have to get up. Sally grabbed it and went to pour him a glass, but he shook his head. "No. Just hand he the pitcher." He said. She handed it to him, ice clinking around inside and Sonic took it. He flipped the lid off and held it up to his lips and drank. And drank. And drank. And drank. Sally watched in amazement as Sonic downed the entire pitcher, which held a pretty generous amount. He handed it back to her and she set it back down on the table behind her. "Thirsty?" She asked.

Sonic nodded. "Oh, yeah." He said. It was his first real drink of water in a _long _time. "The water in Metropolis is..." *Uuughh* Sonic shuddered. "That bad?" Sally asked. He nodded. "I'll say this, I can count the number of glasses of water I drank there on one hand." He said.

The next morning:

Sonic and Sally talked through the night as well as slept on and off. When they did talk, it was mostly him talking and her doing the listening. She didn't mind though. She was just happy he had come back. Around eight that morning, the morning nurse walked into Sonic's room. "Good morning!" She said in a cheery voice.

"Morning." Sonic and Sally replied simultaneously. She took his chart off the holder at the foot of the bed and began going over it. "When does breakfast get served around here?" Sonic asked. It had been a while since he'd eaten and he was starving. "Oh, you're listed as DNF." Morning nurse said. "DNF?" Sally asked.

"Do Not Feed." Morning nurse replied. "Cardiology should be up here in a little while to go through everything with you." She said, putting the folder back in it's holder. "Are you in any pain?" She asked, flipping the corner of the bed back and grabbing Sonic's foot. "No." He said. "Good." Morning nurse said, taking her hand off his foot and flipping the blanket back.

"Any chance I might get a shower in?" Sonic asked. Now that there was hot water, he had a chance to really wash off for the first time in a long time instead of just soaking in dirty, cold water like he had been. "That's gonna have to wait until after your tests. I'm pretty sure you can though." She said. Morning nurse looked up at the monitor, jotted down a few things in it and then walked out.

An Hour Later:

*Knock Knock* The familiar sound made the two turn their attention toward the door. A man walked in the room pushing a large machine, followed by another man pushing a second machine that was just as large. "Good morning." He said. "Hey." The other guy said. Sonic and Sally returned the gesture. "My name's Derek." The first guy said. "And this is Troy."

Troy nodded and stood next to the machine he had pushed into the room. "I'm going to be doing your EKG and he's going to be doing the Ultrasound on you today." Derek said. "Do you need me to move?" Sally asked. "Yes ma'am." Derek said. Sally did and Derek moved down to where she had been, hauling the machine along with him. "Okay, your name is... Sonic?" He asked. Sonic nodded. "We have to ask to make sure. Okay, can you pull your blankets back and remove your gown for me?" Derek asked. Sonic nodded. "Asking me to strip and you didn't even buy me dinner or anything." He said, smiling. They all shared a laugh. "I take it your feeling OK." Derek said, hooking up a bundle of wires to the machine, then he reached over and pressed the call button that was on the wall for the nurses to use. "Nurses station." The voice on the speaker said. "This is Derek in 26. I'm getting ready to start the EKG and unplug the patient from the monitor." He said. "Copy that." The voice in the speaker said. Sally noticed that the bruise on his side had reduced in size greatly, but it was still a little tender.

Derek reached over to a small dispenser on the wall and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves out and slipped them on. "Okay. I'm just going to start unhooking you here." Derek said, grabbing the leads and pulling them off the pads on Sonic's body. Once they were off, Derek popped the EKG leads on and pushed a button on the machine and it came to life. For the next few minutes, they all watched the tiny screen, a green line spiking with every heartbeat along with a bunch of numbers. Derek pushed a button and the machine buzzed and printed out a long strip of paper with the same line that was on the screen. He did that another two times and turned the machine off. "So what does it say?" Sally asked. "I don't know. I'm just the technician that works the machine. The doctor will be up to tell you what it says when you go into the Cath lab." Derek said. "You're up." He said to Troy.

Derek pushed his machine out enough so he could slip out and Troy took his place. "You want me to wait for you?" Derek asked. "Nah. Go on ahead." He said. Derek shrugged and left the room. "Okay. Let's get this one out of the way." Troy said.

He turned on the machine and the screen lit up. Troy grabbed a bottle and a wand like device and set them on the bed, along with a towel. "Okay. You know what this thing does, right?" Troy asked Sonic. He nodded. "Yeah. Kinda weird they wanted me to have one done. I thought these were used to look at babies." He said. "Well that's what their primarily used for. But there basically used to look inside the body." Troy said, tapping buttons and getting the machine ready. Now the only thing on the screen were a few words that were in too small print for Sonic to make out, numbers and a black wedge.

"Okay. This is gonna be a little cold." Troy said, grabbing the bottle and holding it over Sonic. Troy squeezed the bottle and a glob of gel landed on Sonic's chest. "OH, JEEZ!" Sonic yelled, jumping when the cold gel hit him. "Sucks, doesn't it." Sally asked, a smirk on her face. Sonic nodded. "Now you know what we have to go through." She said.

Troy grabbed a pair of gloves and slipped them on, then smeared the gel around. "Okay. Now I have to press down hard for a minute so just bear with me." He said, grabbing the wand and holding it to Sonic's chest. "That's not so- oof!" He grunted as Troy pressed down. He started moving the wand back and forth, pressing down harder and harder. "Ohgeez!" Sonic grunted. It didn't just hurt, it_ hurt a lot._ Every movement Troy made felt like he was pressing a small metal bar into his chest as hard as he could. Sonic looked over at the monitor, and he could see a feint outline of his heart working inside his body, then there was a feint *woosh* sound every time his heart contracted.

"That whooshing sound you hear is blood being pumped in and out of your heart." Troy said, studying the monitor. He moved it around and Sonic tried his best not to push the wand out of his hand. Troy pushed a button and the monitor switched to a close up view. "Now I'm looking at your left ventricle." He said, never taking his eyes off the screen.

He held the wand in place for a minute, then moved it over a few inches. "There's your right ventricle." Troy said. Sally watched in awe as Sonic's heart could be seen on the screen pumping away. Sonic meanwhile, was in agony (Trust me, these thing's aren't fun)."Are you almost done?" Sonic asked through clenched teeth. Troy nodded. "Just about." He said. He held the wand there a few more minutes, then pushed a button and the machine made a series of print out's. Ten minutes later, Troy finally took the wand off Sonic's chest, but not before he made Sonic lay on his side, shoved a wedge under his back and did the same thing on his back. It was a little bit more difficult due to all the spines on Sonic's back, but that was easily corrected by turning up the sensitivity of the Ultrasound. Troy pulled the block from under Sonic's back, handed him a towel so he could clean himself off and shut the machine off; then he hooked Sonic back up to the monitor. "That should do it. Good news is, that came out clean. Nothing out of place or odd looking, so that's cleared up." Troy said.

"You're not just a technician?" Sonic asked. "Nope. I'm a nurse, but my job is primarily Ultrasound. I'll go ahead and forward this to the Cath lab and once they get that, they'll be up here to get you." Troy said.

"Cool. Thanks." Sonic said. Sally waived and Troy nodded and headed out of the room. "That was fun." Sonic said, wiping the last little bit of gel off of him. "Yup. It ain't fun." She said. Sonic handed Sally the towel and she tossed it into a clothes basked against the wall. "Now I could really use a shower." Sonic said. Sally reached over and grabbed her phone off the small counter that was sunken into the wall and started fiddling with it. "Ask 'em if they're gonna drop by today." Sonic said. "Now how do you know what I'm doing?" Sally asked.

Sonic laughed. "Call it a hunch." He said, grabbing the remote for the TV. Sally typed Tails, Shadow and Knuckles the same message. 'Doing good. Going in for minor surgery later on, nothing serious. He wants to know when you're coming back down here.' Sally finished typing, them pushed 'SEND'. A minute later, she received three messages. "Tails is coming down later on and Knuckles is gonna catch a ride with him." Sally scrolled down. "Shadow says he's busy, but he's gonna swing by tomorrow."

Two hours later:

It was just after eleven when a Doctor from the Cardiology department finally showed up. "Hi. My name is Dr. Lowe and I'm going to be taking you up to the Cath Lab today." Dr. Lowe held his hand out and Sonic and Sally both shook it. "Basically what we're going to be doing today is checking if the veins leading to your heart were damaged. What we do is, take you in the room," Dr. Lowe folded the blankets back on Sonic's bed. "And right about here," He said, holding a hand right above Sonic's leg. "We make a small incision into the groin muscle, thread a tube through the veins in your body up to your heart and we release a harmless dye into your system. What we'll be looking for today is if any dye leaks out into the surrounding area, irregularities, blockages, arrhythmias; things of that sort." He said.

"What if you do find something?" Sonic asked. "Well, we'll treat it accordingly." Dr. Lowe said. Dr. Lowe pulled the chart hanging on Sonic's bed and opened it. He studied it a minute then looked back at Sonic. "Have you been having any numbness, chest pain, tingling, rapid heart beat; anything like that?" Dr. Lowe asked. "Well, numbness when the withdrawals hit, but not normally." Sonic said. "What about when you used? Anything like that?" Dr. Lowe asked. "No." Sonic said. "Okay." He nodded, marking something down. He set the folder back in the holder and walked around to the side Sally wasn't sitting on and pulled back the blanket.

"Any swelling in your legs or ankles?" Dr. Lowe asked, feeling around and poking Sonic's legs with his finger. "Not that I've noticed." Sonic said. "No sign's of pitting edema so that's good." The Doctor said, flipping the blanket back. He walked up next to Sonic and pulled out his stethoscope. "Can you remove the front of your gown for me?" The Doctor asked. Sonic complied and the Doctor listened to Sonic's heart and lungs. "Sounds good. No trace of an arrhythmia from what I can tell. But we'll rule it out when we get you in the lab." Dr. Lowe said.

"What's an arrhythmia?" Sally asked. "That is a irregular heartbeat; either a fast rhythm or a slow one. It's caused by a... short in the heart's electrical system. In cases like that, there's a place on the heart where the normal electrical signals are interrupted, causing the heart to beat out of sync. What we do is, first we go in and try to burn that spot off, which causes the signals to go around it and curing the problem. If that doesn't work, the next step is medication, usually a Beta Blocker. If _that_ doesn't work, we usually insert a Pacemaker, or if it's worse, a Pacemaker/Defibrilator combo. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. I didn't hear anything to cause concern."

Sally shifted in her chair. Now she was starting to get worried. "When do we get started?" Sonic asked. "All I have to do is call down to the lab to let them know I'm bringing you down and then we can get started." Dr. Lowe said. "Any other questions?" He asked. Sonic shook his head. "OK. I'll put the call down to them and we can get started." Dr. Lowe said as he turned and walked out of the room.

A few minutes later, Dr. Lowe walked back into the room, accompanied by a nurse. "Okay. They're ready for you." He said. The nurse walked over and began unhooking Sonic from the monitor. "How long do you think it's going to take?" Sally asked. "Shouldn't be more than an hour." Dr. Lowe said. "That's everything." The nurse said as she unlocked the wheels on the bed and got behind it. "You ready?" The nurse asked Sonic. "Bout as ready as I'll ever be." He said.

Sally leaned over his bed and gave him a kiss, which Sonic gladly returned. "I'll be here when you get out." She said. "I love you."

*Hee hee* "Love you too." Sonic said, smiling at her. The nurse wheeled Sonic out with Dr. Lowe following right behind them. Sally reached over for her phone. She dialed a number and held the phone to her ear. "Yello?" A voice asked on the other end.

"Knuckles?" Sally asked. "Yeah. Tails is driving and I answered for him. What's up?" He asked. "I just called to let you know that they're taking Sonic back for that catheter thing." She said.

"So soon? I thought they were doing it later on." Knuckles said. In the background, she could faintly hear Tails asking questions.

"I thought so too, but they want to get it out of the way. He should be out in less than an hour."

"We're on our way; should be there in a few minutes."

"Okay. Look, I gotta go. They don't like it when you use cell phones in here."

"Okay. See you when we get there." *Click*

Sally pushed 'END' and stuck the phone in her pocket and walked out of the room and headed down the hall toward a room marked 'Surgery Waiting Room.' She opened the door and saw it was empty. "Least I have the TV to myself." She said.

Meanwhile:

The nurse wheeled Sonic through a set of double doors with a sign hanging over them marked 'Cath Lab Entrance'. "Here we are." The nurse said, pushing the bed through another set of doors. This time, it was a large room with a large metal cabinets along most of the walls. There was a large metal table in the middle of the room and several monitors on one side along with a large light hanging from the ceiling over the middle of the bed.

The nurse pushed the bed next to the one in the middle of the room and stopped right next to it. "Can you climb over?" The nurse asked. Sonic nodded and the nurse lowered the rails of the bed and he did. Sonic could feel the chill of the metal bed coming through the thin material of the gown. He shivered and the nurse laughed. "Sorry. I forgot to warn you about that."

"Can I get something to lay on?" He asked. "Let me see." The nurse said. He grabbed a towel and walked over to the bed. "That's about the best I can do." He said. Sonic raised up and the nurse laid the towel under his back. "Better than nothing. Thanks." Sonic said. _That's better._

The nurse walked over to a cabinet along the wall and grabbed a few things out and walked back over to the bed. Sonic watched as he set a razor down on the bed, followed by a small can of shaving creme, a piece of blue colored cloth and a bottle of iodine. "What're those for?" Sonic asked nervously. The nurse looked at him. "I um... need to shave you." He said. "Hey, Doc." Sonic said.

Dr. Lowe was looking over the chart he'd brought with him. "Yes?"

"Is the shaving thing really necessary?" Sonic asked. Dr. Lowe nodded. "Yes. Standard procedure." He said. "We do that so we can see the vein clearly."

Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hell, isn't the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me." Sonic said, laying down on the table. The nurse quickly prepped the area and finished up and out of curiousity, he sat up and looked down to see what had happened. _Ah crap. I look like a nine year old. _Sonic laid back down and watched as the Doctor and the nurse grabbed the equipment they would be using and set it on a metal tray next to the table Sonic was laying on, then they started scrubbing up.

Once that was done, the two walked over to Sonic and hooked him up to yet another monitor and finally, they were ready to begin. "Okay, just going to give you a little medicine to numb the area." The nurse said as he picked up a large syringe filled with a clear liquid. "You're not going to put me under?" Sonic asked. "No." The Doctor said. "We're keeping you awake for this one."

"You may feel a slight pinch..." The nurse trailed off. Sonic saw the nurses hands get closer and closer to his leg, then "NNNNGH!" Sonic yelped as the needle pierced his skin. "Thought you said a slight pinch." Sonic said. "Sorry." The nurse started injecting the numbing agent and it was going alright for a minute; then the burning started. "Is it supposed to burn like that?" Sonic asked through clenched teeth, the burning sensation intensifying as the numbing medicine was pumped into his leg. "Just relax." The Doctor said. "It'll pass."

The burning was pretty intense, but it subsided the second the nurse stopped pushing down on the plunger. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as the needle was pulled out of his leg. "Oh, thank God." He said, letting out a sigh. "Now all we have to do is wait for the area to numb up." The Doctor said.

A Minute Later:

The Doctor tapped on the area of Sonic's leg that had been injected with the numbing agent. "Can you feel that?" He asked. "Feel what?" Sonic asked. "Okay. Let's get this over with. Scalpel." The Doctor said. He made a tiny incision in Sonic's leg right above a vein then handed the scalpel back to the nurse. "Catheter." The Doctor said. Once he had the catheter inserted into the vein, Sonic saw the monitor beside him turn on. Then the nurse reached up and flipping a switch on the box like device hanging from the ceiling, he lowered it down about an inch from Sonic's leg.

The nurse pressed another button and on the screen was an almost X-Ray/Ultrasound like readout of the inside of Sonic's leg; the veins were a light blue hue and the surrounding tissue was a milky-whitish color. In the middle of one of the veins, Sonic could see the black outline of the catheter inside of it. "Get ready to follow on my mark." The Doctor said. The nurse nodded. "Mark."

Sonic looked down and saw the Doctor's hand feeding the catheter into his leg, then looked back at the screen and watched as the catheter inside him made it's way up to it's destination. "That's amazing." Sonic gasped in awe.

Eventually, the catheter made it's way to his chest and Sonic could see the veins that dissapeared into his heart move up and down in rhythm every time his heart expanded and contracted. "Get ready to inject the dye." The Doctor said. The nurse nodded and Sonic saw him reach over and grab the syringe of dark liquid. "Okay. We're getting ready to inject you with the coloring agent. What we're going to be looking for is any dye seeping out through the surrounding veins. If it does, you'll see it leaking out into the surrounding area. But don't worry about it right now. We'll deal with it if that happens." The Doctor said. "Go ahead and inject it _slowly_." The Doctor said.

Sonic looked over and watched as the nurse injected the catheter that was exposed with the agent until the needle was empty. "Shouldn't take more than a minute." The Doctor said, walking closer to the monitor. True to his word, a minute later, every vein leading up to Sonic's heart began to turn from their light blue hue to black. Sonic's heart began racing and he could both see it on the screen and feel it, which made for an interesting experience.

Then a few seconds later, the dye reached his heart, causing the surrounding veins to turn black. Sonic wanted to ask if the dye posed a threat of any kind to his ticker, but he knew the Doctor wouldn't have put him in such a dangerous position if it did.

Dr. Lowe watched the monitor intently for the next few minutes waiting to see if any dye was leaking out through the network of veins. "Turn to the left side." He said and the nurse, holding on to what Sonic had called 'The Box' turned it _slowly_ to Sonic's left side. Several minutes passed as no one said a word. "Looks good." Dr. Lowe said quietly. "Okay, let's get the right side." He said. The nurse complied and after raising it back to it's original position above Sonic, Dr. Lowe grabbed it and pulled it down to Sonic's right side. "Look's good too." He said after a few more minutes passed. "Okay let's take the catheter out." Dr. Lowe said, walking back down to Sonic's feet. _Oh, thank God._ Sonic thought as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Dr. Lowe and the nurse began retracting the catheter out of Sonic's body slowly and once they had it out, the nurse began sewing the area up, then Dr. Lowe walked over next to Sonic. "Good news, the veins are fine and clear, and, I didn't see any sign of arrhythmia. Your ticker is completely fine. I don't know how you managed to dodge a bullet like that, but by God you did."

"Thanks doc." Sonic said, smiling. He reached out to shake his hand and Dr. Lowe returned the gesture. "Now all we have to do is cover up the incision and you can go back to your room." Dr. Lowe said. "Can I get a shower in now?" Sonic asked.

"Not until that incision heals up. Probably in a few days." Dr. Lowe said. Of course, he had no idea how quickly Sonic healed.

Meanwhile:

Sally didn't have to wait by herself for very long. Tails and Knuckles had shown up about ten minutes after Sonic had gone back, making the time pass by quicker. "So he hasn't had any problems with the withdrawals or anything like that so far, has he?" Tails asked. "Not that I've seen. If he has, he's been hiding it pretty well." Sally said.

"Do you know when they're going to release him?" Knuckles asked. "They haven't said. They did say they wanted to rule out any other problems that those drugs caused him, but I think once they rule anything like that out, he should be in the free and clear." She said. *Knock Knock*

Sally heard that knock enough to know what it meant. "Excuse me," It was Dr. Lowe. "Sally?" He said. "Hi. What is it?" She asked. "Just letting you know, he's out and doing fine." Dr. Lowe said. The group let out a collective sigh. "That's good. Did you find anything?" Sally asked. "No. Everything is working just like it should. And, I didn't find a trace of Arrhythmia anywhere. His arteries are fine so there's no danger of heart attack or anything like that. It's the strangest thing. With his history, something should've been out of place, but from what I saw, he's completely fine." Dr. Lowe said. Sally laughed. "Yeah. He's always been lucky like that." She said.

"Well, give us a few minutes to get him back in his room and you can go back in and see him. If you'll excuse me, I need to let his Doctor know." Dr. Lowe said, turning around and walking away. "Thanks." Sally said. Dr. Lowe held up a hand and turned the corner. "Shall we go back up there?" She asked. The other two nodded and stood up and followed behind her.

The nurse had just finished getting his bed set back where it was and was hooking Sonic back up to the monitor when the others walked in. "Hey!" Sonic said, waiving at them. "Hey." Knuckles said, standing at the foot of his bed. Tails walked around to the right side of his bed and once the nurse had finished hooking him back up to the monitor, Sally took her place at his left side. "Thanks." Sonic said as the nurse finished up. She walked out of the room and left the three alone.

"What the hell are you doing laying around?" Knuckles asked, laughing at Sonic. "Oh, I'm sorry." Sonic said, smiling as well. "I just had a catheter shoved through my leg. Sorry if I'm not up and running around." He said, laughing.

"So what did they do to you?" Tails asked. "Sonic went through the process with them, leaving nothing out. "Did..." Tails started to speak, but he was giggling as well. "Did... did they... you know." He said, mimicking the motion of a razor with his hand. Knuckles and Tails were trying to stifle their laughter, but it was difficult with Tails making the razor motions. "Yeah... Did they clear cut the forest, or... leave like a lightning bolt or something." Knuckles said. That was the last straw as Tails and Knuckles both busted out with laughter. Sonic glared at them and Sally was turning three shades of red. She even let out a little snicker, but she quickly stifled it.

"Are you done?" Sonic asked flatly. Knuckles was on one knee and Tails was almost on the floor he was laughing so hard. Tails pulled himself up to his feet and wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Sorry, bro. But I'd expect you to be laughing about something like that if it happened to me." "Oh, that's good stuff." Knuckles said, wiping his face as well. "You two are terrible." Sally said, scolding the two of them. *Knock Knock*

Everyone turned toward the door and saw Dr. Anderson poking his head inside. "Can I come in?" He asked. "Please." Sonic said. _Perfect timing._ Tails backed off and Dr. Anderson walked up to Sonic's bedside, a chart under his arm.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Anderson asked. "Good. Other than the numb spot on my leg, couldn't be better." Sonic said. Dr. Anderson took the chart he had been holding and opened it. "Well, I have good news for you. So far, all you're tests have come back negative, your EKG and Ultrasound were clear and the Cath lab found no problems whatsoever. So, since there's nothing more that we can do for you, I'm going to go ahead and release you tomorrow." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic's eyes lit up and the others let out a silent 'yes.'

"I want to monitor you for the next 24 hours and see if the withdrawals pop up again. I don't think they will because we took you off the Methadone just yesterday. But tomorrow, depending on how tonight goes, I'll go ahead and release you. Now, which side did they do that on?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"The right one." Sonic said. Dr. Anderson lifted up the blanket and looked at the site. Knuckles and Tails stifled their grunts and laughter and Sally glared at them to shut up, but she wanted to laugh as bad as they did. "Looks good. No bleeding." He said, lowering the sheet back down into place. "What's the plan from here?" Sally asked.

"Well, once I'm sure about how the withdrawals are going to play out, I'll draw up a plan for you. I know it's vague, but that's the best I can do until then. So for now, stay off your feet for the next six hours, minimum." Dr. Anderson said. "So when can I take a shower?" Sonic asked. "Whenever the incision heals up. Oh, and I'll go ahead and lift the DNF. Okay."

Sonic's eyes lit up. He was starving and he had been wanting something to eat ever since he'd left Metropolis. "Cool. Thanks Doc." Sonic said. "Any other questions?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sally and Sonic both shook their heads and Knuckles and Tails both stayed silent. "Okay then. See you tomorrow." He said and walked out of the room.

"I wish he would've said I could take a shower." Sonic said. "Ah, don't worry about it." Sally said.

A While Later:

"Oh that's soooo much better." Sonic moaned as he set the fork back down on the tray and pushed it away from him. He would've eaten more, but his stomach just didn't have the capacity it used to. "Damn. I've never seen anyone eat three trays of hospital food." Tails said, taking the final bite of his sandwich. But it didn't really bother them. They were happy to see him eating finally. He'd been asleep most of the time and then he had to have minor surgery, which meant he couldn't eat, but now that he was free to do so, he took advantage of it.

"Glad to see you have an appetite." Sally said. _Maybe now he'll gain some weight._ Sally thought, finishing her sandwich. "Now all that I want is a shower and to go home." He said. "Maybe when you do we can still go up in the Tornado." Tails said. "Yeah. Did you ever fix the problem with the stabilizers?" Sonic asked. Tails perked up. He always did when someone started talking about anything technical. "Yeah. Had to replace the whole set up. Turns out one of them was faulty so I decided to play it safe and overhaul all of them. Took the..." Sally looked over at Knuckles and made a 'Let's step out for a minute' motion with her head. He nodded slightly and stood up. "I'll be back in a minute." She said. Sonic nodded and she stood up and walked out, Knuckles following behind her. "What do you think?" Sally asked.

"About what?" Knuckles asked. "You know; with his problem." She said. "The withdrawals?"

"Yeah." Sally said. "I don't know. He hasn't shown any signs that they're going to come back, but then again, his doctor said the stuff they had him on acted just like Heroin so there's no telling what's going to happen. At least he's going to be released tomorrow." She said. They walked down to the end of the hallway and looked out a small window outside. The moon was out and the sky was clear, stars shining. Sally watched as a woman quickly walked up to the front doors and walked inside. She didn't have to look at a thermometer that it was cold out there from the way she had been walking.

"Yeah. It'll be good having him back at home." Sally said. "I knew it was going to be different with him gone, but I didn't think it would be as bad as it was, you know?"

"Yeah." He said. It hadn't been easy on any of them. For her, it meant sleeping alone every night, until now. Sure, Tails had stayed with her for a while which helped out somewhat. At least when he had been there, she didn't feel like she had been alone. It even got to a point where she even tried to make a move on him out of loneliness, but she was only trying to fill the hole in her life that Sonic had filled. But no matter how she felt at the time, she knew she had acted on those feeling's because of his absence and she knew if she had tried to take it further than she had, she'd end up regretting it.

"You think we should get back in there?" Knuckles asked. "Maybe we should." Sally replied. They walked the short distance back to Sonic's room and Tails was still talking about the plane and what he had been up to lately. "So I replaced most of the instruments with Touch Screens. Now instead of reading fifteen or twenty gauges, it's been reduced to one screen."

Sonic looked up as Sally and Knuckles walked back into the room. "You guys left?" He asked. "You didn't hear me tell you?" She asked. Sonic shook his head. "Nah. I was listening to him." Sonic said, tilting his head over toward Tails. "I still want to take you up in it. You won't believe how much better she flies." Tails said. He was beaming with pride; like a parent talking about their kid. Hell, the Tornado might as well have been his kid. He did build it himself armed with only the most basic information on planes and aerodynamics to work on.

"I told you I would." Sonic said laughing. "I know, I just don't want you to forget it." Tails said.

Later That Night:

It was around seven and the sun had set when Tails and Knuckles had left, leaving Sonic and Sally alone. "So they kept you awake?" She asked. "Yeah. You know when you have a pipe and you take a pipe cleaner to it?" Sonic asked. "Uh huh."

"It felt kinda like that. But the cool thing about it though was I could look over, and I could see what my heart looked like, see it beating. It was scary when that dye started turning everything black, but all in all it was... interesting to say the least." Sonic said.

"Until they shaved you." Sally said, laughing. Sonic turned his gaze toward her and glared. "Will you get off that already?" He said. "Oh," Sally said in a pitiful voice. "Did the big, scary man touch your no-no spot?" She said, laughing even harder. "Knock it off." He said, laughing a little as well.

"Oh come on. It's been a long time since I've been able to give you a hard time." She said. "This isn't going to be like when I got singed by that laser busting in to Robotnik's- oh, jeez!" Sonic said, slapping his forehead.

"Oh God, I forgot about that!" Sally said through her laughter. "I didn't think you were ever going to be able to sit down." She said, her laughter subsiding a little. "Hey, you try to sit down after having a laser graze your butt. It ain't fun." Sonic said. He folded his arms and turned away from her.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." She said. Sally reached over and pulled his head toward her, but he didn't look at her. "Does this make up for it?" She asked softly, planting a kiss on his lips. All his anger melted away in a brief second as they kissed, tongues intertwining in a complex dance. When they broke, Sonic had a smile on his face and Sally had one on hers as well. "Damn. I missed that." He said.

*Hee Hee* "I take that as a yes?" She asked. Sonic nodded, then they embraced again and they kissed again. Several minutes had passed and in the heat of the moment, the two had forgotten where they were when, suddenly: *Knock Knock*. The familiar knock made it's presence known.

Luckily on Sally's part, she only had one knee on the side of the bed, so she was able to quickly sit back in her chair. The knock had come from a nurse making her rounds for that part of her shift and she had unknowingly interrupted the pair. Fortunately on Sally and Sonic's part, she didn't say anything about it at all; either that or she didn't see anything.

"How are you feeling tonight?" The nurse asked Sonic. "Pretty good." He said, glancing over at Sally. "Good." The nurse said. She pulled his chart out from the holder at the foot of the bed. "How much did you eat?" She asked. "Three trays." He said. "Three?" She asked. Sonic nodded.

"At least you have a good appetite." The nurse said. "I said the same thing." Sally said. "Okay. I just need to check your wound here." She said, reaching out for the blanket. "No!" Sonic blurted out. "Something wrong?" The nurse asked. "No. It's just- the Doctor was in here earlier and he said it looked fine." Sonic said quickly. _What..._ Sally wondered. _Why's he so- Oh jeez. _

Through the heavy blanket that was draped over Sonic, she noticed a slight bump in it. She turned beet red and looked away. _That explains that._ Sally thought.

"Okay. I'll be back in a little while to check up on you." She said, setting the chart back in it's holder. "Thanks." Sonic said nervously as she walked out. Now that she was gone, Sally looked over and saw that Sonic was just as red as she was. "That was close." She said. "Yeah." Sonic said. "I was wondering why you didn't want her looking at that, then I saw why." She said, motioning toward the hump in the blanket.

"I thought it would be a good idea for her not to think she was the one that caused it." Sonic said.

Eventually, the mood in the room returned to normal and they began talking again. "It's getting late. I guess I should be getting home." Sally said.

"You're leaving?" Sonic asked. "Why?" He thought she was going to stay with him his final night inside. "I need to go back home and get you some clothes for tomorrow. I don't think you want to be wearing that flimsy gown when they release you. Besides, your butt would freeze off in a minute in this weather. I threw the bag you left on the side of the road in the washer and I need to go back and dry them. Ah, I'll have to do them over again. They've been sitting too long." Sally said, standing up and grabbing what little she had brought with her into the bag.

"Can you bring me a soda?" Sonic asked. It had been too long since his last one and he suddenly had a craving for one. "Sure." She said, leaning over his bed and giving him a kiss. This time though, they broke after only a few seconds. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said. "Love you."

"Love you too." Sonic said as he watched her walk out of the room. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Sally walked through the hospital doors and over to her car and, after fiddling with the keys for a minute, she finally had the door open and got in. Tossing the bag in the back seat, she reached over and stuck the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine came to life, although it had to struggle a little since it was cold out. *Click* The doors locked and she reached over and flipped the heater on and it came on, blowing out cold air at first, then it warmed up.

"That's better." She said. She started to put the car in gear when her phone rang. She picked it up out of the passenger seat and looked at the screen. 'Tails' it said in bold white letters, a picture of his head right next to it. She pushed the 'ANSWER' button. "Yeah?" She said.

"Hey, Sally. You busy?" Tails asked.

"I was just getting ready to leave." She said.

"I forgot to ask if you know when they were going to release him?"

"You know, they never told me. I guess whenever the Doctor gets around to him. I'm gonna come back up here around ten or so."

"OK. I'll call Knuckles and see what time he wants to go over there."

"OK. I'll see you then."

"Sounds good. Oh, and bring an appetite."

"Planning a party?"

"Just a 'Welcome Home.' Nothing special." "I need to bring anything?" "Just yourself."

"OK. I'll see you there."

"Okay. See you tomorrow." *CLICK*

Sally hung up the phone and dialed Shadow's number. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Shadow. Just wondering if you were coming down tomorrow."

"Yeah. I had something I needed to get out of the way today though. I'll be there tomorrow."

"OK. See you then." *CLICK*

Sally laid the phone down in the passenger seat; she pulled her seat belt on and put the car in reverse. _Still gets me about him._ She thought as she pulled out of the hospital parking lot. "Might as well stop by the store and pick up a few things."

Later That Night:

It was around ten when the night nurse had come on duty; luckily, it was a man. "They haven't checked your incision yet?" He asked, looking at the chart to bring himself up to date on Sonic. Blue went over what had happened with the last nurse. "Ah. Yeah, I guess that would be weird. Well I need to look it over, part of my job, you know?" He said. Sonic gave him the OK and he pulled a pair of gloves on and lifted up the blanked. _Yeah. Like this is less weird. _

Sonic could feel him taking the bandage off. "That's odd." Sonic heard the nurse say. "What?" Sonic asked. "It-it's completely healed." The nurse said in disbelief. "I've never seen that before."Sonic laughed softly. "Yeah. I've always healed up pretty quickly." He said. The nurse shook his head and laid the blanket back down and pulled the gloves off and tossed them in the trash. He asked him the usual questions and gave Sonic a quick once over then he left, leaving Sonic alone.

It was around midnight when the car pulled into the parking lot. "This place is pretty far out of the way." He said, getting out of his car. He pulled the jacket he was wearing closer to him for maximum effect and headed toward the front entrance.

Walking in, he headed straight for the elevator and pushed the button for the sixth floor. The elevator dinged and the doors opened and he stepped off. He checked a diagram of the floor and after getting his bearings, he headed for Sonic's room.

After a short walk, he found himself standing in front of the door to Sonic's room. He walked in and quietly made his way to the foot of the bed. _He's asleep. But at least he doesn't look half-dead like he did._ Judge thought. _Dammit._

He turned to walk out when he heard a voice. "Didn't think I'd see you again." Judge saw that Sonic had woken up. "Hey. Sorry if I woke you." Judge said, walking over to Sonic's bedside. "What're you doing here?" Sonic asked. "Just thought I'd drop in on an old friend. How you doing?" Judge asked. "Pretty good. Had a tube shoved into my leg and I almost died from fever the other day, but I'm doing pretty good." Sonic said.

"Good. How's the... you know?" Judge asked.

"Bout as good as it can get. Haven't had withdrawal's yet since they gave me... I don't remember what they called it. But it's kept them from coming back."

They talked for a few more minutes, reminiscing about the short time they had spent together. "You know, I do owe you an apology." Judge said. "For what?" Sonic asked. "Giving you all that heroin. All I was doing was enabling you, and I'm sorry." Judge said. "No. if it hadn't been for you, the withdrawals might've killed me." Sonic said.

Judge stared at him for a few seconds. "Do you know how weird that sounds?" Judge asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

A they talked for a few more minutes when Judge stood up. "Look. I'd better be getting out of here." Sonic pushed the button on the bed's remote and sat up a little better. "Okay. Hey, you gonna be in town tomorrow? I'm gonna be going home tomorrow. Maybe you could stop by." Sonic said. "Sure." Judge said. Sonic gave him his address and Judge put it into his phone. "I'll try but I'm not making any promises." Judge said and he waived goodbye to Sonic. "Take care." Judge said as he walked out the door. "You too." Sonic said.

Judge had been sought out by Shadow for his natural gift for speech. Of course, Judge refused at first, but Shadow had done a little digging and once he threw Tails' name around and mentioned that he was one of Sonic's closest friends, Judge was on board. Shadow wanted Judge to try to convince Sonic to get help, and Judge knew he could do that in his sleep. He agreed and once Sonic had managed to get himself kicked out of Scourge's place, the plan was put into motion.

Judge found a rundown place that he could live in until his job was done, he took Sonic in. But, a few days later, Sonic had up and left. Not knowing how to proceed, Judge called Shadow. Shadow, who had immersed himself on everything related to heroin addicts, told him his service was finished. Shadow had read that there were a few ways to treat their addiction. Having an intervention was the first step. That had already been tried once with Shadow and the others and it had failed. Shadow thought it might have a better chance of succeeding if it was just a one on one no pressure type deal, which is where Judge had come in, but that failed too.

Shadow read, that once intervention had failed, the addict was the only one that could help themselves. If any other attempt of outside assistance was attempted, said addict would only act out and completely shut out any attempts at help. So, the only option that was left was to let Sonic work things out on his own. Even though cutting off all contact with Sonic went against every logical thought in Shadow's head, he knew if it was going to work, he would have to. Luckily for everyone, everything had worked out.

So, Shadow told Judge his services were no longer needed. Of course, Judge still wanted to keep tabs on Sonic, so Shadow agreed to keep Judge up to date whenever he found out something new. "I do have one question." Judge told Shadow during their last conversation in Metropolis. "What's that?" Shadow asked. "What happens if... you know?" Judge asked. "It won't." Shadow said. There was silence on the phone between the two. _How the hell can he be so sure of that._ "What makes you so sure?" Judge asked. "I've known him a long time. He can do it." Shadow said. _I just hope he can._

Once Judge was back out at his car, he climbed in and started his car. _I hope he can stay away from that shit_. Judge thought and before he was out of the hospital parking lot, Sonic was asleep.

Authors Notes: Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21: Homecoming

Chapter 21: Homecoming

Rated T- Language, Sexual situations.

Quick side note, I noticed after the last chapter uploaded, that it looked like a small section of it _came out looking like this _when I previewed it on the fan fiction website_. _Of course, it could have been my phone, I'm not sure. It's funny, I can access the site, but I can't access my profile. Ah, well, enjoy!

Sally pulled up to her house around eight thirty. She would've been home sooner, but she decided to swing by the store on her way home to pick up a few things for the party tomorrow. Sally turned the ignition off and hopped out, going round to the back of the car and taking out the few things she had bought. It wasn't much. Chili, Hot-Dogs, a couple of onions, cheese, buns and a bottle of Champagne for the two of them later on that night. _That should be enough for five people._ She thought as she pulled out the final bag and shut the trunk.

Sally unlocked the front door and walked in; the lights already set to turn on when someone walked through the front door. Setting her purse on the small desk by the door and hanging her keys on the peg on the wall, she locked the door and went into the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter. "Ooh, his clothes." She said to herself, walking into the small laundry room at the back of the house.

She opened the lid of the washer and just like she thought, they had been sitting for too long. The smell of mildew arose from inside the washer, but that was easily taken care of with another scoop of soap and another run through. Once that was taken care of, she started putting everything away. It was common knowledge to anyone that knew Sonic that he had a love of Chilidogs, so taking his love for them into account, she played it safe and bought enough to feed at least twelve people.

Sally yawned and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. She felt completely drained, but it was for something worthwhile so it didn't bother her. Sally flipped through the channels; just wasting time until she heard the familiar thump that said the washer was finished. Her eyes began to grow tired and heavy. Every minute dragging on and on. *Nngh* Sally's head snapped up as she caught herself drifting off to sleep. "Come on. Stay awake." She said.

"10:08?" She said, pressing a button the remote and bringing up the TV's internal clock. Sally rubbed her eyes and leaned forward on the couch. "They should be done by now." She said as she stood up. She walked back into the laundry room and sure enough, his clothes were done. "Finally." She muttered. Sally opened the lid to both the washer and dryer and began tossing everything into the dryer, except for the blanket he had stuffed in the bag. "That's not gonna fit." She said. If she tried to stuff everything inside at the same time, the dryer would burn itself out; She found that out the hard way. _Ah, I'll just hang it outside. _She thought. She grabbed the blanket and went out the sliding glass door and over to the clothesline. _It won't dry for a while, but I- _*Yawn* _need to get some sleep._

Sally tossed the blanket over the line, not even bothering to set it on straight. Sally walked back into the house and locked the door behind her, checked the front door, turned off the lights and walked into the bedroom. She shut the door and grabbed her flannel nightshirt, but tossed it back on the bed. "Ah, fuck it." She said, and flopped down on the bed, not even bothering to kick her shoes off.

Meanwhile:

'1:14 A.M' *Nnngh!* Sonic bolted upright in the bed. He was sweating and shaking and his skin felt like it was on fire. "What the..." He mumbled as he looked around, trying to remember where he was. A few seconds later, he realized what was happening. Withdrawals. The sensations in his body were nothing normal and he fiddled around in the darkness for the remote that had the call button for the nurse's station. "C'mn." Sonic mumbled, almost slurring his words. The withdrawals were nothing new to him, but there were a few new surprises this time around.

His vision was blurry and he was having trouble concentrating; his head was spinning as well, adding even more fun to the ride. Sonic felt around on the bed, patting the area around him until he came across something that felt remote-like and he began pushing buttons. *Uuunnggh* Sonic grunted as his stomach began to twist and lurch on top of everything. Sonic kept pushing buttons, the bed kept jerking up and down and the lights kept turning on and off in a slow, strobe like pattern, all of which weren't helping his nausea and dizziness.

"Frruuuck!" Sonic moaned. He was beginning to feel angry and out of frustration, he tried to throw the remote across the room, but the cord that it was attached to caused it to snap back and hit him in the knee. "Muthrfukr!" He slurred as his knee burst with pain. And to add to everything, he could feel the food he had eaten earlier that night begin to make its way to the exit gate and he began to panic. He threw the blankets off of him and fell back against the bed.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked from the speaker behind him. To his surprise, he had pressed the call button just before he'd thrown the remote down in frustration. *Uuuuuughhhh* Sonic moaned, trying to speak. "Sir?" The voice asked. The withdrawals had made his vision so blurry; it was like looking through a piece of plastic that had a very thin layer of petroleum jelly smeared across it. That was the scary part.

"Inedhel." Sonic mumbled. He couldn't tell if there was someone in the room with him or if he had actually hit the call button, but whoever it was managed to calm him down, but only slightly. "I'm sorry?" The voice asked. "I ne-" Sonic stopped talking as everything in his stomach came up to say hello again. It happened so suddenly he wasn't even able to turn his head and his dinner went all over the front of him. If it had been quiet, Sonic would've heard a feint gasp from the speaker. "We'll send someone to your room right away sir." The voice said. The initial eruption lasted a few seconds and Sonic managed to take a breath. *Huugh* *Huugh* Sonic panted and he felt another wave coming and he managed to turn his head toward the side of the bed and it went all over the floor, splashing in an explosion of green and yellow.

*Huuuuuuggggghhhhh* He vomited a few seconds longer this time and once he had finished, he leaned against the railing on the side of the bed that was pulled up when patients were asleep in case they rolled out of bed during the night. "Uuughh." Sonic moaned, and his stomach spasmed again and a third round began.

At that moment, the night nurse which was in charge of him for the night walked into the room. "Oh!" She gasped and went around to the side of his bed that wasn't covered in vomit and turned the light on. "What's wrong?" She asked. Sonic turned his head toward her and muttered, "Idnkw." The smell in the room was powerful and she reached over to a dispenser on the wall and grabbed a plastic ring off of it and shook it once, and a bag deployed from underneath it. She handed it to Sonic. "Here. If you have to do it again, do it in this." She said. Sonic mumbled something but she couldn't understand it.

Night nurse reached down and felt his forehead. She yelped and pulled her hand away. "You're burning up." She said, reaching over and hitting the call button that the nurses used. "Page Dr. Anderson for room 26, code yellow." Night nurse said and released the button. *Bong* "Dr. Anderson, code yellow in room 26." The nurse on the speaker could be heard coming through the speakers in every room as the nurse's station paged him. For the moment, all Sonic's nurse could do was wait.

"Hold on." Night nurse said. She wrapped the BP cuff around Sonic's arm and he tried to pull away. "Naaa." Sonic moaned. Another new sensation was that he was extremely sensitive to touch. Night nurse could tell by his reaction to the BP cuff that it was uncomfortable and she quickly took it off and put it back on the hook. "Can I at least take your temperature?" She asked. Sonic looked up at her, but all he could see was a blurred outline of a person standing next to him. He nodded and she grabbed the thermometer off the wall. "I'll try to make it quick." She said, gingerly pressing the thermometer against his forehead. He moaned as it touched his skin, but he managed to sit still for the duration.

The monitor beeped and night nurse looked up. "108.6°?" She gasped in amazement. _I can't believe he's still conscious._ She thought as Sonic pulled the plastic tube up to his mouth and retched again; this round had significantly less volume than the first couple. *Huuuuugggghhhh* Sonic retched into the tube, followed by spasms of dry heaves. The heat coming off his body was incredible and he could feel the sweat begin to pool under his body and collect in the dip his body made in the plastic air mattress underneath him.

Dr. Anderson walked into the room and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw the situation in front of him. "Oh, shit." He said, briskly walking over to where night nurse was standing. She moved and he touched Sonic and pulled his hand back, slightly covered in sweat. "Get 20 mg's of Methadone, now!" He yelled. Night nurse nodded and ran out of the room.

Dr. Anderson reached over and grabbed the BP cuff off the wall and tried to wrap it around Sonic's arm, but he refused, pulling his arm away. "No." Sonic protested. "I know it doesn't feel good, but I need to do it." Dr. Anderson said. "Ples... Dn't" Sonic pleaded. His skin felt like it was alive every time he moved and it was getting worse. The nurse ran back into the room holding the needle filled with the medication in her hand.

"Got it." She said. She grabbed the IV that was still in his foot and prepared to inject him with it. "Wait!" Dr. Anderson shouted. "What?" Night nurse said, pulling the needle away. "You can't give it to him until we get a BP reading." He said to her, then he turned back to Sonic. "Look, I know it's uncomfortable, but we need to get a pressure reading from you so we can give you the Methadone." Dr. Anderson said to him.

He grabbed the cuff and went to put it on him again, but Sonic still fought with him. That left the Doctor with no choice. "I need more help in here." Dr. Anderson said, pressing the call button on the wall.

Night nurse walked over to the other side of the bed and finding a place on the floor that wasn't covered in vomit, she readied herself. A moment later, two more nurses walked in, a man and a woman. "What's going on?" The guy asked.

"He's having withdrawals and we need to get a BP reading before I can give him the meds." Dr. Anderson said. If they did give him the shot without checking his blood pressure first and it was too high, the meds might cause him to have a stroke. "Got it." The male nurse said. Everyone reached out and grabbed Sonic and held him down. "NNNNAAAAGGGGGH!" Sonic yelled as their hands wrapped around him, which caused his skin to tingle fiercely. It felt like when your foot falls asleep and when you put the tiniest pressure on it or moved it a micron, it felt like an explosion of needles in your skin; except multiplied by five.

Dr. Anderson quickly wrapped the cuff around him and pressed the button and it began to inflate. "Keep a hold on him." Dr. Anderson said. The cuff inflated and it began to deflate slowly. "NNNNAAAAGGGGGH!" Sonic kept yelling as the tingling continued to ravage his body. Making it worse was the fact that he was sweating and covered in vomit, making him slippery. *Beep* The cuff finished deflating and the result popped up on the screen. 114/91. "Give it to him!" Dr. Anderson commanded. Everyone let go of him and Sonic calmed down immediately as the tingling slowly subsided.

Night nurse reached over and grabbed the syringe and stuck it into the port in the IV sticking out of his foot. She pulled the needle out and capped it and laid it over on the rollaway table. Everyone in the room watched as slowly, the medication began spreading throughout his system and he began to calm down. "That should take care of that for now." Dr. Anderson said. *Nngh* Sonic quietly moaned and he opened his eyes and looked around.

"You feeling better?" Dr. Anderson asked. "Nuh-huh." Sonic whispered. "What happened?" He asked. "You were having withdrawals again." Dr. Anderson told him. "Don't worry. We gave you a shot of Methadone. You should be all right for now." He said.

Sonic's vision began to clear up, his stomach began to subside and the tingling stopped. "Okay, guys. Thanks for your help." Dr. Anderson said to the two nurses that had come in. They walked out and he turned back to Sonic. Blue felt around for the remote for the bed and stuck his hand in a puddle of vomit. "Oh." He moaned as he pulled his hand away. He knew he had puked up on himself, but after he'd turned his head and retched over the side, everything after that was a blur.

Sonic looked around and saw that there was a pretty good amount of puke on the bed as well as on the floor. "I'm sorry Doc. It just happened before I could react." Sonic said. "Don't worry. We'll get that cleaned up." Dr. Anderson said. He reached over and pressed the call button again. "Yes?"

"Send housekeeping to room 26 please." He said. "Got it." The voice in the speaker said.

Dr. Anderson turned toward the nurse that was still in the room. "Can you get him some stuff to clean up with?" Dr. Anderson asked her. "Of course." She said and went out of the room. "That was scary." Sonic said. "What was?" Dr. Anderson asked. "It was just like all the other times, only this time I couldn't see." Sonic said.

"Couldn't see?" Dr. Anderson asked. "Yeah. I mean, my vision has gone blurry before, but it wasn't anything like this. It was like I was in a fog and I could only make out shapes and light." He said. "That sounds about right." Dr. Anderson said. "It's not unusual for someone in withdrawals to suffer some vision loss during an episode. How's it now?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Getting better." He said. It was almost back to normal, minus a little blurriness. "Good. How's the tingling?" Sonic opened and closed his hands and moved around a little. "Better. That's never happened either." That too, had almost disappeared as well.

"Okay. Here you go." Night nurse came back carrying a large pink tub filled with soap, shampoo and a few other things from what Sonic could see and set it in the bathroom. Sonic knew the tub filled with all those things meant that he could finally take a shower. He started to get out of the bed when Dr. Anderson stopped him.

"What?" Sonic asked. _Oh, jeez. _"We need to get you off the monitor." Dr. Anderson said. "Ah." Sonic said. The Doctor grabbed a pair of gloves, slipped them on and began removing the leads off of Sonic as well as the sticky pads. "Might as well replace these." He said. A few of them were covered in vomit and Sonic, in his urge to have his first real shower in a _loooong _time, grabbed a few and pulled them off. "Did you call-"

The two looked up and saw a janitor standing in the door, pulling a cart behind him filled with different cleaning supplies. "Yup." Dr. Anderson said to him, pulling off the last sticky pad. "What do I do with this?" Sonic asked, pointing at the vomit soaked gown he was wearing. "Just leave it on the bed." Dr. Anderson said. "Okay." Sonic said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. *Squish* His bare foot landed in the puddle of puke on the floor.

"Uugh!" He pulled his foot back and tried the other side. It happened to be puke free; gingerly, he made his way over to the bathroom, ignoring the IV sticking out of his foot. Dr. Anderson watched as the hedgehog ambled over to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. _I've never seen anything like that. The Methadone shouldn't be working that quickly. _And by all medical logic, it shouldn't have.

The medication worked like this: Thirty minutes after injection, trembling, pain and fever begin reducing in severity. One hour later, patient begins to recover; trembling, pain and fever disappear. One and a half to two hours later: patient's symptoms clear up completely. In Sonic's case, recovery was less than five minutes. As Dr. Anderson mulled everything that had happened in his head, someone from housekeeping showed up and began changing the bed and sanitizing the mattress. The sound of water could be heard coming out of the bathroom and Dr. Anderson walked out of the room.

He walked down the hall and into a small office. He sat down and turned on a computer sitting on the desk and waited for it to boot up. He still couldn't get over how fast Sonic had recovered. Usually, an addict that was in Sonic's position was usually sent into a rehab center for a certain amount of time until they had gotten clean. But Sonic was a special case. Unlike a normal addict, his veins and arteries were completely clean, except for the one's in his arm, which had already begun healing and there was not a single problem with any of his organs. Dr. Anderson began wondering if rehab was the best fit for Sonic or not. On one hand, rehab had a very high success rate for the one's that really wanted to get clean, which from what Dr. Anderson could tell, that was what Sonic wanted. On the other hand, if his withdrawals occurred every few days, unlike the normal addict where they came and went for hours at a time over a period of weeks and, the normal dose of Methadone stopped the withdrawal effects in just a few minutes, Dr. Anderson began to doubt that rehab was even necessary.

In Sonic's case, if he was given a Methadone regimen to take at home, he might just get over the withdrawals in a couple of weeks, depending on his willpower. The computer powered up and he pulled up Sonic's contact information. "Let's see..." He trailed off as he picked up the phone, dialing Sally's number.

*Ring ring* *Ring ring* "Mmmm." Sally moaned as her phone began ringing. *Ring ring* *Ring ring*

Without opening her eyes, she fumbled around in the dark until she felt it vibrating against her hand and she picked it up and pressed the 'CALL' button and held it to her ear. "Yello?" She mumbled.

"Sally?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Yes?" She replied.

"This is Dr. Anderson."

Sally bolted up in bed. "What's wrong?" She asked, her heart beating quickly.

"Relax. He's doing fine. I'm just calling to let you know that he had a withdrawal episode, but we gave him a shot of Methadone and he's doing fine."

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. I didn't know what to think when I heard your name. I thought the worst had happened." She swung her legs over the bed and turned the lamp next to the bed on.

"No, it's nothing like that. He woke up around one this morning and called the nurse's station, and when the nurse went into his room, he was sweating and nauseous."

"So it wasn't as bad as the last time, right?"

"Well, yes and no. He wasn't complaining of any pain, but he did have nausea and vomiting along with some vision problems and sensitivity to touch. But don't worry. That is completely normal in recovering addicts."

"So what happens now?"

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it much. He's returned to normal and his withdrawals have disappeared for now. We'll continue to monitor him closely the rest of the night and call you and let you know if anything happens."

"Ok. Thank you Doctor."

"You're welcome."

Sally laid the phone down on the nightstand and began to get dressed.

Sonic stood in the tiny bathroom and smiled as he stood in front of the thing he'd been longing after for so long. _Never thought I'd see one of these again._ He reached down and pulled off the pair of boxers he was wearing and let them fall to the floor. _No more cold water soakings._ He thought as he reached over and turned on the hot water. It shot out with a good amount of force and after a minute, he had hot, running water.

Sonic turned the cold water on and let them mix to get it the perfect temperature, then he stepped in. _Oh, that's _soooooo_ good. _He thought as the warm water washed over him. The cold water baths he had taken in Metropolis only managed to do so much, but it never managed to penetrate all the way down into the spines on his back. Sonic reveled in the joy of it all, turning around and letting it wash over his back, then he tilted his head back and let it wash over his head.

Sonic ran his hands over his head and rubbed the water out of his eyes. "Wow." He said flatly as he tilted his head down. The water running off of him had a slight brown tint to it; the months of dirt that had collected in his quills now getting washed away. Once he was completely soaked through, he opened the door and grabbed the bar of soap and the bottle of shampoo and took them inside the stall with him.

The soap felt great as he rubbed it against his skin and the shampoo felt like it was washing away all his sins. _I wish I could feel like this all the time._ He finished lathering up then he rinsed off and, just for the hell of it, he stood under the running water for a few extra minutes as if to make up for lost time. *Knock Knock* "Sir?" It was the voice of the nurse that had come into his room when he had pushed the call button.

"Yeah?" Sonic asked as he shut the water off. "You need to finish up so we can get you back on the monitor." She said. "Got it." Sonic said. He grabbed the towel and began toweling off, then stepped out. *Aaaaaaah* "Nice." Sonic said to his reflection as he pulled his boxers back on and stepped out of the bathroom; the nurse was standing in the room when he walked out of the bathroom. "Feel better?" She asked.

"You have no idea." Sonic said, smiling. He felt like a new person as he walked the short distance and began putting on the clean gown they had brought him. On the bed were a few extra items they had brought him; toothpaste and a brush, a small comb and a small stick of deodorant. Sonic grabbed them and set them on the small shelf that was cut into the wall and climbed back into bed. "Looks like you can move around pretty good with the IV in your foot." She said, walking over to inspect it.

"You know, I forgot it was in there." Sonic said. "Look's good." She said. The nurse walked over to a chest and opened one of the drawers, pulling out several new sticky pads. She laid them on the mattress and began unwrapping them and sticking them on Sonic.

"That's a nasty bruise." She said as she applied one of the pads right next to the edge of the bruise. Sonic had completely forgotten about that as well and he looked down at it. It had begun to disappear and was now only half the size it was when he was brought in. "Good thing is it doesn't hurt anymore. It just looks bad." Sonic said, poking it.

"That should do it." She said, grabbing another one of the plastic tubes out of the holder and setting it on the rollaway table next to his bed. "Just in case you have to." She said. Sonic nodded. "Thanks." He said, and she walked out of the room. Now that he was alone, he let out a long sigh. _That was fun. _He thought, reaching for the remote.

Sally pulled into the hospital parking lot around 2 a.m. *Nnnnnngh* She shuddered as she stepped out of the warm comfort of her car into the cold air and walked up to the front entrance. Luckily for her, the lot was almost empty, save for the staff and the few emergency patients so she was able to park pretty close. "That's better." She said as she walked pass the empty information desk and over to the elevators.

*Grrrrr* Sonic's stomach was grumbling for food and he gently rubbed it. "Take it easy." He said. He wanted to eat something, but he was afraid to after everything had come back up earlier. *Knock Knock* "Yeah?" Sonic asked. He looked up and saw Sally poking her head through the door. "Hey." She said, giving him a smile as she walked into the room. "What're you doing here?" He asked as they kissed. Sally sat down in the chair next to the bed and set her purse on the shelf in the wall. "They called me and said you were having problems." She said. "You OK?" She asked.

"Yeah. Just a little withdrawal. Good thing is that I finally got to take a shower." He said. "Oh, yeah. How'd it feel?" She asked. "Aaaamazing." He said, grinning from ear to ear. _I guess he's feeling better. _"So what happened?"

"Ah, you know. I puked up everything I ate, dizzy spells, almost went blind. Normal stuff." He said, giving off a laugh. "Nothing I couldn't handle." But he was lying. In fact, it terrified him. It was the first time he'd ever lost his vision to that extreme. It was scary not being able to see or form a coherent sentence. The first twenty seconds after it had hit, he thought he was having a stroke.

"Liar." She said, taking hold of his hand. "How you feeling now, though?" Sonic shrugged. "Ah, can't complain. Better than I was, that's for sure." He said. "Did the Doctor say anything about keeping me longer when he called you?" Sonic asked.

"He sounded like he was on the fence about it. Didn't really make it clear what he wanted to do. But if he does, he does." She said. "Yeah." Sonic said. "Better safe than sorry."

_He must be_ _serious about this._ Sally thought. She knew that he had undergone a dramatic change when he said that. The old him would've been fighting with the nurses and demanding to be released, telling them that he was fine and ignoring the Doctor's advice, like he had done before. Now, he was different. He still had the same carefree, joking attitude, only now, he was open about everything and willing to do whatever was necessary to get clean.

"They let you take a shower?" She asked.

"Yeah. Most of what came up ended up on me. I'll tell ya, I feel sorry for the janitor." He said. "Hey, you didn't happen to bring my clothes in case they decide to release me tomorrow, did you?"

"Shit." Sally sighed.

The rest of the night went by pretty fast. They both kept nodding on and off, eventually managing to get a couple of hours sleep between themselves. Eight o'clock rolled around and someone brought him in a breakfast tray. It wasn't anything special. A small scoop of scrambled eggs, which were obviously powdered. Two sausage links, which were likely made out of something that had no actual meat in it. A small bowl of oatmeal, which had cooled down and turned to a thick paste, a _small_ bowl of fruit, orange juice and milk. "Thanks." Sonic said half-heartedly as he removed the lid. After he'd lost everything earlier that morning, he was pretty hungry. "Oh, that looks just _delicious_." He said, letting out an exasperated sigh. He opened the packet of plastic silverware and laid them on the tray, then grabbed what little seasonings they gave him. "I'm gonna step out and get something." Sally said, getting up out of her chair.

"You want this?" Sonic asked, offering her his tray in the hope she'd release him of the horror that was a hospital breakfast. "No. You go ahead." She said, walking out of the room. Sonic looked down at the 'food' in front of him and went back to opening the package of seasoning's. He dumped them out on the table. The packet consisted of a tiny packet of pepper, which was about the size of a postage stamp; a packet of 'No Salt seasoning', which actually tasted pretty good, and, for reasons which defied his logic, a package of salsa. (This was an actual breakfast tray that was served to me the last time that I was in the hospital.)

Sonic tried to eat it, but he couldn't get past the rubbery taste of the eggs and stone cold oatmeal. He pushed it away and downed the fruit and the milk and OJ and pushed the tray away. About that time, Sally walked back into the room, carrying a couple of sandwiches and a banana. She shut the door behind her and sat back down in the chair next to his bed. "Here you go." She said, handing him one of the sandwiches. "Thank you." He said, grabbing the sandwich and unwrapping it. He took a bite of it and it tasted _glorious._ "I figured it was better than- Is that... Salsa?" She asked, reaching over and grabbing the packet.

"Yeah. I'm not even going to try to figure that one out." Sonic said, taking another bite of the sandwich. "I mean, look at it. Does it look like plastic to you?" Sonic asked, pointing at the eggs. She nodded. "Y-yeah. It does." She said, laughing. "This isn't food. This is what food _eats._" Sonic said.

A short time later, one of the 'Nutrition Assistant's', which was a glorified way of calling them waitresses, came in and cleared the tray she'd brought him earlier. "Not hungry this morning?" She asked as she put it with the stack of dirty trays she was pushing around with her. "No." Sonic said. "I don't blame you." She said, winking at him. "Those powdered eggs taste horrible." She said.

Sally tossed the banana peels in the trash and gave Sonic a little kiss. "Before the Doctor comes in, I'm gonna run back to the house and grab your clothes." Sally said, reaching for her purse. "What if he comes in?" Sonic asked.

"Something tells me we have plenty of time." She said, pointing up at the clock. '9:03.' "Good point. Be careful." Sonic said. "I will." Sally said as she walked out of the room.

Twenty minutes later, Sally shut the engine off and walked into the house. Walking back to the bedroom, she opened the closet and got on her knees and pulled out a box that was in the back of the closet. It was a box of Sonic's clothes that she'd packed up a few days after he'd left. She meant to throw them away, but she just couldn't bring herself to do that, so she boxed them all up and set them in the back of the closet.

She pulled out a pair of pants and a shirt and tossed them on the bed, then pulled out a pair of boxers for him, tossing them on the bed as well. Sally pushed the box back into the closet and shut the door. _I'll get those out later._ She thought. She grabbed the change of clothes and tossed them on the couch, then went back to check the dryer. Opening the door, she felt around inside. _Might as well run it through one more time._ She thought, reaching up and turning the machine on. She backed out of the tiny room and grabbed Sonic's clothes of the couch and headed out the door.

She was gone less than forty-five minutes and when she returned, she found Shadow, Knuckles and Tails had dropped by. "Hey." Tails said as she walked back into the room. "How long you guys been here?" Sally asked, setting Sonic's change of clothes in a closet.

"Eh, bout ten minutes." Knuckles said. "Doctor hasn't been in yet?" She asked, sitting down. Sonic shook his head. "Not a word." Sonic said. Sally got out of her chair and headed over to the door. "I'll be right back." She said and headed for the nurse's station.

There were a couple of nurses working there, and Sally walked up to the first one she saw. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" The nurse said. "I've been waiting for Dr. Anderson to come by my boyfriend's room all day and I was wondering where he is."

The nurse picked up a phone. "Which room is he in?" She asked Sally. "26."

The nurse put the receiver to her ear and dialed a number. "Dr. Anderson? I have a woman here that says you were supposed to see the patient in room 26."

"OK. I'll tell her." The nurse said. She hung the phone up and looked back up at Sally. "He said that he would be up in the next twenty minutes." Sally nodded. "OK. Thank you." She said, turning around and heading back to Sonic's room. She walked back into the room and sat down. "Well?" Sonic asked.

"The nurse said he said he should be up here in twenty minutes."

Thirty minutes later, there was the familiar knock at the door. Dr. Anderson walked in. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Dr. Anderson said, shutting the door behind him. "Don't worry about it." Sonic said. "So can I go home?"

"Well, it's like this." Dr. Anderson began. Sonic didn't like the way that sounded. "I've been giving your situation a lot of thought. In cases of drug abuse, particularly with intravenous drug use, the standard treatment is usually a stay in a rehab facility, combined with aggressive Methadone therapy. A normal user will suffer withdrawals for hours on end over a period of weeks or months depending on the severity of the habit until the body adjusts accordingly. But, in your case," Dr. Anderson paused to take a breath.

"The withdrawals come every few days, and the Methadone works in minutes instead of hours. You also have no signs of internal damage, which also sets you apart from what we've seen in typical patients." He paused for a minute. "I've given it a lot of thought and I've decided to go ahead and release you today."

Everyone smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "So, I'm going to go and start up the discharge process and get you a prescription set up. I'll be back in a few minutes." Dr. Anderson said. "Thank you." Sonic and Sally said at the same time as he walked out of the door.

A nurse came back a few minutes later carrying a slip of paper, which she handed to Sally. "Here you go." She said. "It's for Methadone. Take it whenever your symptoms start flaring up; but no more than four a day." Sally took it and stuck it in her purse. "Thanks." She said. "Now does he have a regular doctor?" The nurse asked. "No." Sally replied. "Okay." The nurse said, writing something down on a card. "He'll have to come back in a couple of weeks. There's a clinic on the first floor. Come on in and give them this card and ask to see Dr. Anderson." The nurse handed Sally the card, which she stuck in her purse.

The nurse stepped around to Sonic's bedside and reached up and turned the monitor off. "Let's get these off of you." She said, unplugging the monitor leads and removing the sticky pads that were on his body. Once those had been taken off, she reached into a cabinet that was tucked into the corner and pulled out a roll of tape and a cotton ball. "OK. Let's get this out of you."

She took the tape that was holding the rig in place to keep it from moving, and once that had been done, she grabbed hold of it. "Ready?" Sonic nodded and she pulled on it. It slipped out with ease, followed by a trickle of blood. The nurse grabbed the cotton ball and held it over the hole and tore off a section of tape, securing the cotton ball in place. "There you go. I'll be right back with your discharge orders."

She came back a minute later holding a sheet of paper. Sally took it and scanned it. "Can I get dressed now?" Sonic asked, already sitting up on the side of the bed. The nurse nodded. "I'll be back in a minute." She said and walked out. "You guys mind..." Sonic said. "Oh, right." Knuckles said, standing up and moving back. Tails and Shadow did the same and Sally pulled the curtain around the bed and Sonic changed into his clothes.

"I'll let them know you're ready." Sally said, walking out of the room. "Hope your ready to take me up on that flight you promised me." Sonic said to Tails. "You bet. We'll get around to it in a couple of days." Tails said. The fox leaned back in his chair and smiled.

A nurse walked into the room, pushing a wheelchair. "You ready?" She asked. Sonic nodded and stood up. "Where's Sally?" He asked. "Oh, she said she was going to pull her car around."

"What's that for?" Sonic asked, pointing at the wheelchair. The others stood up and gathered over by the door. "We have to take you out in a wheelchair. It's hospital policy." She said. Sonic walked over to it and sat down. "Let's go." He said and she turned the chair toward the door and pushed Sonic out of the room.

Knuckles and Shadow followed behind the nurse as she pushed him to the elevator. She pressed the button and a few seconds later, the doors swung open. They all stepped into the elevator, except for Tails who decided to wait for an empty one.

A few seconds later, the elevator hit the ground floor and they walked out and waited for Tails. His elevator opened a few seconds later and he re-joined them and they all headed for the front entrance. "You wanna get out of here?" Tails asked Knuckles. "Yeah." He said. "We'll meet you over there." Knuckles said to Sonic and the pair headed for Tails' car. "Is it just me, or is it weird that he's driving now?" Shadow asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. A little. But I guess it beats flying everywhere." Sonic said. "You gonna meet us over there?"

"Yeah. I was just getting ready to head out. See you there." Shadow said. Sonic watched as he took a few steps away from him and bolted toward the road. "Wow!" The nurse said, shocked at the sudden burst of speed from Shadow. Sonic felt a lump in his throat as Shadow's burst of speed reminded him of what he used to be able to do, but he swallowed and it went back down. Sally pulled up and reached over, unlocking the passenger door. "Ready?" She asked.

Sonic nodded and stood up and walked over to the car and climbed in. "Thanks." He said to the nurse and she folded the chair up and pushed it back into the building. Sonic buckled in and Sally put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. "You ready to go home?" She asked. "I was ready three days ago." He said as she pulled the car out on the road.

Thirty minutes later:

Sally pulled into the driveway and shut the engine off. "That's a sight for sore eyes." Sonic said as he climbed out of the car. Sally climbed out and they headed up to the front door. Sonic stopped in the yard and took it all in. _Why the hell did I ever leave?_ He asked himself. He still couldn't believe he wasn't dreaming. Sonic expected to wake up any second and find himself back in Metropolis, living in that run down house, going through withdrawals. "You comin' in?" Sally asked as she stepped inside. "Yeah." Sonic said.

He walked up to the porch and stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Oh, that feels so good." He said. "What does?" Sally asked, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him. "Being here with you again." He said, giving her a kiss. "Save it for later." She said, pulling away from him. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"In case you forgotten," She said, resting a hand on her hip, "the others'll be here in a few minutes." She said, going into the kitchen and taking the food she'd bought the other night from the fridge and setting it on the counter. Sonic walked over to the bar that separated the kitchen and the dining room. _Onions, cheese, Hot Dogs, Chili! _"Is that... what I think it is?" He asked. His mouth was watering just from the sight of everything. "Yes. I thought you might enjoy 'em your first day home." Sally said, dragging the buns out of the cabinet. "I... I love you." He said, a tear falling from his eye. How long had it been since he had a ChiliDog?

He couldn't remember, but like most everything, it had been a long time. Sonic walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the back of the neck. "I'll take that as a thank you." Sally said. "But if you want me to get 'em made, you need to let go of me." She said.

*Ding-Dong* "That must be them. Can you get the door?" Sally asked. "Yeah." Sonic said, walking out of the kitchen and over to the door. Sonic opened the door and saw Knuckles, Tails and Shadow standing there. "Come on in." Sonic said, stepping aside. They walked in and Tails and Knuckles sat on the couch; Shadow sitting in one of the recliners. "So, how does it feel to be home?" Knuckles asked. "Pretty good. At least here I can wear pants." Sonic asked, smiling. "It's good to have you back though." Tails said. "It was weird coming over here and not seeing you sitting here or coming around the corner."

Sonic sat down in the other recliner. He missed this. Sitting around with his friends, having a conversation. God how he missed that. "Hey, guys. I'll be in there in a while." Sally said, poking her head out of the kitchen. "Hey." Knuckles said. Tails gave her a wave and Shadow gave her a nod and a slight smile. _Still not used to that._ Sally thought as she disappeared back into the kitchen.

"You mind if I ask you a question?" Shadow asked. "Go ahead." Sonic said. "How come you didn't just run back here? Was it because of the..." Shadow trailed off. Tails and Knuckles turned their heads. They'd been wanting to ask Sonic the same thing, but they thought it was too personal a question. "Sorry." Shadow said.

"No. It's alright." Sonic said. "At that time, I was already going through withdrawals from the painkillers and I wasn't in any shape to, you know, get up and run. Then I started smoking weed, which stopped the pain from that, then I started on the heroin and it just snowballed from there." Sonic said. "You think you'll be able to run like you did again?" Shadow asked.

Sonic thought about it for a second. "Guess I'll have to if I want to run circles around you." Sonic said. "Please. I've always been faster than you. I just let you win." Shadow retorted, then grinned and started laughing. Tails and Knuckles started laughing too.

"Did I hear you right?"

"Wha..." Sonic looked up and saw Sally standing behind the couch. "You smoked pot?"

"Yeah. But I did it because it killed the pain from the withdrawals from the painkillers." Sonic said. "You did?" Sally asked. "Yeah." Sonic said. He couldn't tell if she was angry or not, which was scarier than anything he'd ever seen. "You have any good stories?" She asked, grinning. Sonic laughed. "I might have a few." He said. "Can we hear a couple?" She asked. "I'll tell you guys over dinner." Sonic said. She smiled and went back into the kitchen.

A While Later:

"It's ready." Sally called out from the dining room. _Finally. _Sonic thought as he got out of his chair and walked into the dining room. "Holy..." Sonic said quietly. On the bar was the greatest spread he'd ever seen. A giant bowl of Chili, a mountain of cheese, onions and jalapenos with enough Hot Dogs and buns to feed a small army.

"I... I had no idea..." Sonic said. "Well, you gonna stand there looking at it or you gonna dig in?" Sally asked, handing him a plate. Sonic took it and quickly made four of them and sat down at the table and started eating. The others waited out of respect to Sonic before they got their own and he already had the first one down before Tails could even fix his first. _Oh, fuck me that's good. _Sonic thought as he tore into his second one. The Chili danced on his tongue and mingled with the cheese, onions and jalapenos, making for one hell of a party in his mouth.

Sonic was tearing into his third one when the others sat down. He pulled away from his plate and leaned back. "Done?" Sally asked. "No. Just taking a break." Sonic said, wiping his mouth on a napkin. Knuckles cracked open a soda and took a drink. "He's not done. He's only on his third one." Tails said.

But he was getting full. Sonic used to be able to put away at least six of them. Now he was almost done in by three. Not eating everyday over an extended period of time caused his stomach to shrink, but that wasn't important to him. Just being home was good enough. Everything else was just a bonus.

"So. You were saying something about you had a few stories to tell?" Sally asked. "No. You said that. But I do, if you're still interested." Sonic said. "Only if you want to." Sally said. Shadow put his fork down and leaned closer. _This should be interesting._

"Well," Sonic began. "OK. You all remember Scourge, the guy I was staying with?" Sonic asked. They all nodded. "When I showed up, he told me that he couldn't get me any of those painkillers I'd been taking so he told me to try to smoke some of the stuff he had. I didn't want to at first, you know? But, after I tried it, it did help with the pain. That first night, I don't remember much about it. We lit up, then the hunger hit about ten minutes later." Tails started giggling. Sally couldn't believe how casually he was talking about it.

"I do remember we ordered a pizza, then I was... standing on the porch arguing with the delivery guy... he said something that pissed me off and I just yelled out 'Fuck you with a brick.'" The entire table burst out laughing and when it subsided, Sonic continued.

"Then, the next day. He brought out this one kind that was... wooo. Powerful stuff. We lit it up and I couldn't move."

"What?"

"Really?"

Sally was laughing her head off. "Yeah." Sonic said, quickly taking another bite off his plate. "It was weird. I looked down, and I knew my arms and legs were there, but they wouldn't move. I started yelling at them, 'Do something or you're fired' or something like that. I didn't know what to do, you know?"

Sally was almost on the ground; Knuckles and Tails had their head in their hands, tears falling from their face. Shadow was even laughing, which Sonic still wasn't used to.

"Yeah. Then I look up, and we are _sooooooo_ loaded, I look at the TV and see our reflections in the screen," Sonic stifled a laugh. "I look at Scourge and I said, 'Dude, check it out. Those fucking people are just staring at us." That broke everyone as Sally actually fell out of her chair and Knuckles and Tails leaned against each other laughing; Shadow buried his head in his hands.

Several minutes passed by before everyone could even speak without laughing. When they were able to talk again, Sally was the first to speak. "Oh, God. *Hee Hee* That's so rich it's got to be fattening." She said. "I hope you guys don't find these little stories too boring." Sonic said, finishing off the last Chilidog on his plate. He wiped his mouth and pushed the empty plate away from him and leaned back in his chair, letting out a satisfying sigh. "That... was the best *urp*, 'scuse me. Best meal I've ever had." Sonic said.

A While Later:

"Getting late." Tails said, looking up at the clock. '10:17'. "Yeah, I guess I should be getting back." Knuckles said. Even though there hadn't been a credible threat against the Master Emerald for over a year, Knuckles still didn't like to be away from it for very long. But he made an exception to that for the last couple of days. Knuckles got up off the couch and walked over to Sonic and held out his hand to Sonic. "Good to have you back." Knuckles said, grinning. "Good to be back." Sonic said and shook his hand.

Shadow got up next and walked over to Sonic as well, extending his hand to him, but not saying a word. Sonic shook it, Shadow grinned and he walked over to the door. "Thanks for dinner." Shadow said, giving everyone a wave. "You're welcome." Sally said as he shut the door behind him. "That was weird." Tails said. "Yeah. What was that about?" Sally wondered out loud.

Sonic let out a small laugh. "Don't worry about it." Sonic said. There wasn't anything that needed to be said between them. "I'm still not used to seeing him act _normally_." Sally said, shaking her head. Tails and Knuckles walked over to the door. "Well, guys. I guess I'll see you later. Thanks for dinner Sally." Knuckles said as he opened the door. "Ooh. You mind if I go real quick?" Tails asked Knuckles. "Sure. I'll be out at the car." Knuckles said. He gave Sonic and Sally a nod and walked out. Tails walked back to the bathroom and Sonic and Sally walked into the dining room and began to put the leftover food away. "That was fun." Sonic said, grabbing the bowl of Chili and walking over to the fridge. "Yeah. Is it just me or was it... more relaxed than usual?"

"I think it was the hospital." Sonic said, going back for the cheese and the onions. "Wouldn't surprise me. You should have felt the tension the first night you were in there. We didn't know what was going to happen to you." Sally said, putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. She went back to the table and grabbed the silverware. "C'mon. It's gonna take more than that to stop me." He said, setting the last of the food in the fridge.

Sally closed the door on the dishwasher and walked over to him. "That sounds like the hedgehog I know." She said. "Tails walked out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his pants. "Damn towels never get 'em dry." He said, walking over to where Sonic and Sally were standing. "Hey, guys. Thanks for having me over. That was good."

"No problem. Glad you liked it." Sally said, giving him a smile. "Now all we have to do is figure out when you're gonna take me up for that ride." Sonic said. "Whenever you feel up to it." Tails said. "I guess I better get Knuckles home." Tails said. Sonic reached out to put his hand on Tails' shoulder and walk him out when Tails quickly moved in and gave Sonic a big hug.

"Whoa." Sonic said as he started to lose his balance, but managed to steady himself. "_Glad to have you back._" Tails whispered in his ear; Sonic could feel him start to cry. "Hey, hey, hey." Sonic said gently, patting him on the back. Sonic looked at Sally and gave her a look that said: Can you give us a minute?_ Yeah._

Sally nodded and quietly walked away and out the front door. She walked over to Tails car and knocked on the window. Knuckles rolled it down and she stuck her head inside. "It's gonna be a minute." She said. Knuckles nodded. "No problem."

Tails pulled away from Sonic, and he saw that Tails' crying began to stop. "You OK?" Sonic asked. Tails nodded. "Yeah. I just-" Sonic stopped him mid-sentence. "It's OK. You don't have to explain." Sonic said. Tails smiled and sniffed, clearing his nose out. "I, uh, I'd better get out there and take Knuckles home." Tails said. "Okay. See you later." Sonic said as Tails walked out the door. "God, there's still so much of the kid left in him."

Sally waived goodbye to Tails and Knuckles and walked back into the house, locking the door behind her. "Still a little emotional?" Sally asked as she walked over to the bar and leaned against it. "You could say that." Sonic said. "He might be fifteen, but he still has some of that kid left in him." Sonic said. "Three." Sally said.

"What?" Sonic asked. _Three? _"You've said that same thing three times already." She said. "Guess I'm getting forgetful." He said, leaning against a section of the bar that turned into the kitchen. "I forgive you." She said; she walked over to the fridge and opened it up, grabbing the bottle of Champaign out and setting it on the counter. "What's that for?" Sonic asked picking the bottle up and inspecting it.

"I was in the store the other day and I thought I'd pick up a bottle. You know, a toast to celebrate." She said. "Chilidogs and Champaign. That's what I call a party." Sonic said. Sally grabbed a couple of glasses out of the cabinet. "I thought you might like it." She said. Sally turned off the light and walked around the counter and out of the kitchen. Sonic followed behind her and sat down on the couch. "It was perfect." Sonic said.

Sally went to crack the bottle open when Sonic stopped her. "May I?" He asked. She shrugged and handed him the bottle. "Non-Alcoholic?" Sonic asked. "Yeah. I want to celebrate, not get drunk." She said. Sonic grabbed the cork and gave it a couple of tugs. *POP* The cork popped out and foam started flowing out of the top of the bottle and Sonic held it over the carpet. "Oh, jeez!" He said as it dripped over his hand and stopped a second later. Sally held out the glasses and Sonic poured some of it into each glass.

Sonic set the bottle on the coffee table and they each took a glass. They looked into each other's eyes, locked arms and they both drank down what he had poured into the glasses, the gentle hum of the dishwasher the only background noise. "You know," Sonic said, setting his glass down on the coffee table, "I am so sorry for everything I've put you through."

"I already told you that you didn't have to apologize for what you did." Sally said. "No." Sonic said. "I do." Even though Sally had already forgiven him for everything he had done, Sonic still felt like it was something that he could never truly be forgiven for. "I'm sorry." He said. "I promise I will never leave you like that again." Sonic said as he lightly caressed the side of her head gently.

"If I do, I want you to remind me of everything that I left behind." Sonic said, moving in closer. "Don't worry." Sally said softly, moving even closer. Their noses were almost touching now. "I don't plan on... letting you..." Sally trailed off; their eyes closed and they moved in and shared a kiss. Lips connected, unparted at first, then they opened up, tongues darting in and out, exploring each other's mouths.

Sally dropped the glass she was holding on the floor, which thanks to the thick carpet, didn't break and they embraced and Sonic pulled her closer and she complied. *Mmm* She moaned lightly and Sonic cradled the back of her head with his hand, the other he ran up and down her shirt. They slowly fell back on the couch, Sally on her back, Sonic on top, tongues working overtime, hands exploring intimate places. Sonic went down and under her shirt and she didn't even try to stop him as it slowly made it's way up to her bra.

He ran a hand around her left breast, lightly encircling her nipple and Sally's hand was busy as well. Hers was down at near his pants, rubbing and exploring the area thoroughly. _Hello!_ She thought as her hand brushed up against something that was very familiar to them. _Hello! _Sonic thought as her hand worked it's magic. He quickly reached down and pulled his pants to one side and breathed a sigh of relief as his zipper stopped rubbing up against him.

_Oh, that's better. He thought as the relief was instantaneous. They went in this fashion for several more minutes when they broke, both panting heavily. They both looked at each other, then they both stood up and, without saying a word, and they headed off to the bedroom. Sonic already had his shirt off when they walked in and Sally fell on the bed, Sonic following suit. _

_Sally growled and they continued making out on the bed. With one hand, she had Sonic's pants undone and he kicked them off and they landed on the floor. With Sonic's help, Sally pulled her shirt off and tossed it on the floor, revealing a pink and black lace bra, one she wore for this particular occasion. Sonic went to take it off when she stopped him. "Nuh uh." She said, shaking her head. She reached back and removed it slowly, seductively. "Damn." Sonic said slowly, eyes taking the spectacle in. _

_She took off the bra and tossed it on the floor along with the rest of the discarded clothing, leaving her exposed from the waist up. Sonic kicked his shoes off and they hit the floor with a thud. Sally reached down and undid his pants, pulling them off with a ferocity that Sonic had never seen in her before. The way she looked at him, her actions, it was new, aggressive; and Sonic liked it. _

_He gave her one last kiss and he began to go to work._


	22. Chapter 22: Revelations

Chapter 22: Revelations

Rated M- Language, Sexual Situations

As I write the first paragraph of this chapter, Steel Panther's 'That's what girls are for' is playing from my music library. Man, I love the shuffle feature.

*MMMMMMM!* Sonic moaned as he climaxed and fell back on the bed, exhausted yet satisfied. He turned his head to the side and got a look at his love in the moonlight streaming through the window. She was breathing heavily as well, staring up at the ceiling; the light shining down on her bare, sweat covered chest, a smile on her face. _Holy shit..._ Sally kept thinking those words over and over in her head.

She had never came that hard or wildly and Lord, how good it felt. _Jesus Christ. _Sonic thought as he finally began catching his breath and regain some of. He was spent and he turned toward her and put an arm around her and pulled closer to her, giving her a kiss on the neck.

"_I love you." _He whispered. The tingling in Sally's body began to fade and she was finally able to break her gaze from the ceiling as she turned toward him. "_I love you, too." _She replied. "You OK?" Sonic asked. He could feel her shaking slightly and her eyes had a glazed look to them. "Y-yeah." She replied, her voice shaky. "It's just *hee*, I've never _came_ like that before." She planted a quick one on his lips. Being away from him for that long caused a lot of pent up sexual frustration that was now getting released.

Sonic smiled. _I know what you mean._ Sonic pulled her a little closer. She laughed slightly and ran a hand across his bare chest. It felt good to have someone lying next to her again instead of spending many a cold night alone. "Think you might be able to go another round?" She asked. "I don't know." He said wearily. _Damn; she's still horny? _Sonic thought. Sally had been so loud that if they would've had any neighbors around, Sonic didn't know if they would've been complaining or applauding.

"I'm pretty dry right now." He said. "Mmmmm." Sally protested. "But I might have a little left in the tank." He said, licking his lips slowly. Sally snickered and nodded. _Round 2._ Sonic thought as Sally rolled over on her back and giggling like a school girl.

Later...

"Woooo." Sonic sighed, crawling up next to Sally again. "I thought my jaw was gonna lock up there for a minute." He said, wrapping his arm around her again. Sally mumbled something that Sonic couldn't make out and nuzzled up next to him and laid a hand on his chest; a satisfied smile on her face. Sonic, finally taking a well deserved break, laid his head on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling as he took a much needed rest. _I hope she doesn't want to go again. _He thought as he began to relax. They were both satisfied, but he was drained. Finishing four times in a night was a record for him and he thought if she wanted another round, something was going to break. He looked over at her and she was sound asleep; she looked like an angel lying there in the moonlight trickling through the window, small beads of sweat dotting her face intermittently. Sonic put his arm around her and kissed her softly on the back of the neck, nuzzled up to her and fell asleep.

*Mmmmm* Sonic murmured as he stirred around on the bed. He opened his eyes and checked the clock. '9:14.' _Should I get up?_ He wondered. Sally was still sleeping next to him and her arm was draped across his chest; he wanted to stay in bed next to her. On the other hand, he had to pee. He debated whether or not to move, but eventually, nature won and he decided to risk waking her up. He carefully and slowly wiggled his arm out from underneath her body and once that had been accomplished, he slowly sat up on the bed then stood up, trying to make as little movement and noise as possible. _Mission accomplished._ He though as he walked around the bed.

Sonic bent down to grab his boxers then realized that it was just the two of them and let them fall back to the floor. Quietly making his way over to the door, he put his hand upon the knob and gave it a gentle turn. "Good morning." Sally said, rolling over.

"Morning. I didn't wake you, did I?" Sonic asked. "Yeah, but I'll let it slide." She said, smiling. Sally pulled the blankets back and sat up on the side of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and stood up and walked over to him. "You hungry?" Sally asked. "Not really. But a cup of coffee would be nice." He said. "Since when do you drink coffee?" She asked. "It's a habit I picked up." He said opening the door. Sally followed behind him; they split off, he went into the bathroom and she went into the kitchen.

Sonic finished and reached down and pushed the flush handle and walked over to the sink. He turned on the water, soaped up his hands and rinsed them off. "Not too bad." Sonic said as he checked the bruise on his body which was almost healed up, leaving only a small discolored spot. He grabbed the toothpaste out of the cabinet and his brush, which Sally had kept. He thought she'd thrown all of his stuff away, but luckily for him, she loved him.

He brushed and put everything away, shut the light off and walked out into the kitchen. Sally was in the kitchen finishing up the coffee and making herself a couple of pieces of toast. Sonic sat down at the bar, taking a deep breath, the smell of coffee filling the room. Sally turned around and grabbed a cup from the cabinet. "You sure you don't want anything?" She asked, sticking the butter back in the fridge." Sonic shook his head. "Nah. I'm good." He said. She grabbed the pot and poured him a cup and handed it to him. "Thanks." He said, taking a sip. _Not bad._ He thought. "You think you could help me later on?" Sally asked, leaning against the counter and taking a bite of toast. Sonic nodded. "With what?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but we, um... need to change the sheets." She said, giggling as she finished her sentence. "That bad?" Sonic said. "Or good depending on how you look at it." She said, smiling. "Sure." He said. She finished her toast and put the saucer in the sink. He took another sip of his coffee and she walked out of the kitchen. "I'm gonna take a shower." She said. Sonic spun around toward her. "May I join you?" He asked. She giggled and nodded. They walked into the bathroom and Sally turned the water for the shower on and once the water warmed up, they both stepped inside.

Luckily for Sonic, they didn't go at it again, although they did soap each other up. He was still tired from their first round, but it was just kept as a shower, nothing more. They stepped out and toweled off, then they walked back into the bedroom and once they had changed back into their clothes, Sally began pulling off the blankets and sheets off the bed, leaving the mattress exposed. Sonic saw why she wanted to change the sheets when he saw the mattress. Right where Sally had been laying, there was a dark spot, about six or seven inches around where her hips were. _Damn._ Sonic thought.

They flipped the mattress over and changed the sheets on the bed and Sally grabbed the dirty sheets off the floor. She walked out of the room and into the laundry room and he walked out into the living room and sat on the couch, turning the TV on. "Oh, cable, how I missed thee." He said, scanning through the channels.

Sally finished putting the clothes into the washer and walked over to where Sonic was. "Hey, you want to go with me to take that prescription in? Get it out of the way?" Sally asked. "Sure." Sonic said, turning off the TV and standing up. She grabbed her purse and they walked out the door and over to her car. They climbed in, Sally started the engine and they headed into town.

"Hey, are these my CD's?" Sonic asked, flipping through the CD case that was in the center console. "Yeah. I hope you don't mind." She said. "Of course not." Sonic said, taking Journey's 'Greatest Hits' out of the case and slipping it into the car's CD player. A few second's later, 'Wheel In The Sky' started up. "I missed this." Sonic said, nodding his head to the music.

Later

Sally handed the prescription to the pharmacist. "Be about thirty minutes." The pharmacist said, taking the slip of paper and sticking it in a drawer. "How much is it going to be?" Sally asked. The pharmacist hit a few keys on the computer. "It's $69.18 with tax." He said. "Thank you." Sally said and they walked over to a row of metal chairs and sat down to wait.

Twenty Minutes Later

"Thank you." Sally said as she put her card back in her purse and took the small white bag with the bottle of pills. They walked out of the pharmacy and back to the car. Sally handed Sonic the bag and he opened it, pulling the bottle out. "Wow." Sonic said flatly. "What?" Sally asked as she turned the engine over. "Look how big they are." He said, staring at the orange cup in his hand. It was a large bottle and the pills inside looked like they were about half an inch in length and about as big around. _That can't be right._ Sonic thought and he opened the bottle and took one out.

"How the hell am I supposed to swallow that?" Sonic asked, holding one of the pills in his hand. He thought he was imagining it, but they were that gigantic. "Maybe you could break it in half." Sally suggested. "What the..." Sonic mumbled, noticing a red sticker that had been slapped on the side of the bottle. It said:** MAY CAUSE STOMACH UPSET. TAKE WITH FOOD.** Right underneath it was another sticker that said:** Do not lie down at least 30 minutes after taking this medication.** And right underneath that: **May break in half in necessary. Swallow, but do not chew pills.** "Those are gonna be fun to swallow." Sonic said, tossing the bottle back in the bag.

Sally pulled into the driveway and shut the engine off, and they climbed out, Sonic holding on to the paper bag. She unlocked the door and they went inside. Sonic sat down on the couch and turned the TV on and began flipping through channels. Sally hung her keys on the peg and stood by the door. _It's almost like he never left._ She thought as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to him.

The rest of the day went by pretty fast. Mostly spent watching TV or talking to each other. Dinner came and went and they washed the dishes together, just like they used to before and after a little more TV, they decided to head off to bed. Sally went into the bathroom, doing whatever nightly ritual it was she did every night. Whatever it was, she always came out looking beautiful, wearing her flannel pajamas with the scent of something that resembled a raspberry soda wafting through the air.

Sonic, meanwhile, crawled into bed and waited for her to come to bed. He laid there, but he had something on his mind other than Sally. _Maybe I should think about getting into the gym. Doctor said it wouldn't be hard getting back up to my old self. Besides, it be nice to be able to zip around everywhere like I used to._ *Foom* The bathroom was right next to their room and you could hear the water running through the walls in the pipes when the shower was running. This was a perfect opportunity to scare her.

_Oh I gotta do it._ He thought after hearing the water running in the shower, he grinned as he quickly leapt out of the bed and made his way around the bed, turning off the light in the bedroom. He walked out and he turned off the lights in the living room, kitchen and dining room, leaving the hall light on.

_This is gonna be good. _He thought as she walked up to the bathroom door. Sonic opened it just enough and through the crack, he could see her silhouette moving behind the clear shower curtain. He grinned and turned the hall light off and snuck into the bathroom. _Let's see if I can still do this._ Luckily for Sonic, she had her back turned toward him and didn't see his blurry outline through the curtain. Sonic reached up and held his hand just above the light switch and after waiting a few seconds, Sonic flipped the light to the off position.

"Shit!" Sally exclaimed as the lights went off, leaving her in the dark. Sonic crept closer to the stall, waiting to make his move. "Sonic?" Sally called out. _Don't tell me she forgot? _Sonic thought. The idea was, turn off all the lights and sneak in the bathroom while she was in the shower, turn off the light in there, and scare her. Simple, effective and funny. She fell for this trick only once, but she never fell for it again, until now. Sonic grinned and took another step forward and stood as still as possible. _I hope she doesn't kill me._ He thought about turning the light back on and aborting the whole thing, but he was in too deep at that point.

Sonic waited and waited and a few seconds later, he heard the water shut off. "Hey Sonic," Sally called out. "Can you go out and check the breaker box?" Sally asked, oblivious to the fact that he was standing a few inches from her. In the darkness, he could make out her figure blindly tapping around for a towel. He waited a second, then spoke. "Sure." He said calmly.

"Mother-" Sally exclaimed and she jumped back. Sonic started laughing and he took a step back and flipped the light on. Sonic snickered as Sally stared daggers in him. Her heart was pounding and her eyes were wide. She rushed forward and hit him on the shoulder. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" She demanded, shaking from the fear and adrenaline rushing through her body.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd fall for that one again." Sonic said, leaning against the sink and laughing. "You're an ass." She retorted. "And you're a fireman. Are we going somewhere with this?" Sonic said. Sally wasn't laughing and she pointed toward the door. "Out." She demanded. Now that he had his fun, he knew better than to push the envelope. He walked out and Sally locked the door behind him.

Sonic went back into the bedroom and crawled back into bed and turned the TV on. "Alright. Pulp Fiction." (Is it weird that I've been using the names of movies and songs that don't exist in the Sonic universe?) Sally walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She was wearing her flannel nightgown and she crawled into bed next to Sonic.

"Hey, you're not mad at me, are you?" Sonic asked. Sally just gave him the silent treatment and opted to glare at him instead. _Great. You're home less than a day and you fuck up. Good job. _Except for the TV, which was spouting the famous 'Ezekiel 25:19' scene from the movie, there was silence. "Look. I'm sorry." Sonic said to her, but she didn't respond; she just kept her eyes locked on the screen.

_Well, I'm fucked. _He thought as he turned back to the movie. Several minutes passed and Sam Jackson was wrapping up his 'And you will know my name is the Lord' speech when Sally finally spoke. "Do you know I almost had a heart attack in there?" She asked. _At least she's talking to me. _Sonic turned toward her. "Look. I'm sorry. I thought that-" She held a hand up to his mouth. "Don't do that again." She said angrily, her teeth clinched.

"O-okay." He said meekly. There was silence in the room for several seconds, then Sally spoke. "Oh, there's one more thing." She said, her teeth still clenched. "I didn't think you'd fall for that one." She said, laughing her head off. "Wha... you're not pissed at me?" Sonic asked. "No. I figured it was you. I told you before I wasn't gonna fall for that one again." She said. It did scare her, but she wasn't mad. It reminded her that he was there and that thought comforted her.

_I am not doing that again._ Sonic thought. "I thought you were gonna kill me." Sonic said. "I still might." Sally said, clenching her teeth and laughing some more. "Let's just watch the movie." Sonic said.

The movie went off and Sonic picked up the remote. "You wanna watch something else?" He asked. Sally shook her head. "Nah." She said. Sonic held it out and hit the power button and the TV went off, bathing the room in darkness. Sally ran a hand lightly across his chest, causing him to stir. "You're not going to sleep now, are you?" She asked in a depressed tone. Sonic grinned. "I was, unless there was... something you wanted." He said.

Sally didn't say a word, instead letting her actions speak for her. She kissed Sonic and he felt her hand reach into his boxers and give him a squeeze. _I guess she didn't get enough last night. _He thought as he returned the favor and reached into her flannel bottoms, and gingerly inserting a couple of fingers inside of her. Arousal was almost instantaneous as they quickly shed their clothing and Sally made her way down south.

*Mmmmm* Sonic moaned as Sally's head bobbed up and down the length of his shaft, then she abruptly stopped. Sonic opened his eyes, wondering why she stopped. "It's your turn now." She said, breathlessly. Sonic grinned and laughed. Sonic moved over and she crawled where he had been laying and she settled into his spot. Sonic got into position and she moaned slightly out of anticipation at what was about to happen. Sonic reached up and parted her legs apart and the second his tongue came into contact with her clitoris, she moaned with ecstasy and her hips bucked forward.

Sonic worked his magic for several minutes until she stopped him, something that took a good amount of willpower. _Gonna have to change the sheets again._ He thought as he rolled over on his back. She climbed on top of him and bent down and kissed him hard, which he gladly returned. "You mind turning the light on?" She asked. "Yeah." Sonic said slightly out of breath. He reached over and flicked the bed side lamp on. The light bathed the room and Sally, like him, was dripping with perspiration.

Sally grabbed Sonic and carefully positioned his dick just right and once it was in place, she moaned softly as she slowly slid down on his length until he was fully inserted inside of her. Then she began moving her body up and down; once she had established a rhythm, she began going faster and faster, bedsprings squeaking, grunts and moans filling the room as they seemed to merge into one.

Sonic felt her hands on his chest, keeping her steady and he opened his eyes and saw Sally's face upturned toward the ceiling, moaning and lightly playing with her nipples. Out of nowhere he reached out and began rubbing a hand against her clit.

She didn't protest, instead she took a hand off of him and reached down and joined him. This drove both of them crazy. "Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, FUCK!" She moaned. That was Sonic's cue that she was having her 'O' moment. There were only three times when she used language like that. When she was angry, embarrassed, or in this case, getting off.

*Mmmmmmmm!* Sonic moaned. Sally looked down at him, sweat pouring down her face. "Are you-" She said, almost out of breath. Sonic nodded and they stopped long enough for them to switch positions. He laid Sally on the bed and the second she was down, he began pumping his hips again. Sonic felt himself begin to climax and he wrapped his arms underneath her, laid down on top of her so their bodies were touching and pulled her into him.

Sonic's rhythm picked up faster and faster and with one final moan, his groin exploded and burst into an explosion of tingling delight. He stayed inside her for several seconds until he had finished, then he slowly rolled off of her._ Oh damn. If she keeps this up, I'm gonna need another fluid drip._ He turned toward her and she gave him a smile. "Did you?" He asked. She nodded, but didn't say anything. The look on her face said it all. Sonic reached over and flicked the light off and snuggled up to her, laying his head against the back of her neck, the scent of the shampoo filling his nose. Sally was still shaking a little, but all those pent up frustrations had been released and she knew it would be a day or two before they did it again. Not that it was bad, but they both needed the rest. Sally moved around slightly, got into a comfortable position and fell asleep, Sonic holding her in his arms.

Sally woke up and rolled over and looked at the clock. '5:18'. _Still early._ She thought in her sleepy state. She turned over to put an arm around Sonic, but instead of finding him, there was nothing there. _Must be in the bathroom. _She thought, but she realized that the spot where his body had been was cold to the touch. She didn't think anything of it, until she rolled over.

Through the darkness, the door was open a crack and in the quiet stillness, she heard a feint noise coming from somewhere in the house. "What the..." She murmured quietly to herself. It was a noise that was out of place from the usual noises that popped up during the night and that worried her a little. She sat up and pulled her house shoes on and quietly. _Hmm..._ _There it is again._ She thought. It was a strange sound; she opened the door slowly and quietly and Sally walked out into the dining room. *Sob; sniff* _Oh, no... _In the darkness, Sally could barely make outSonic's shadow, sitting on the couch. He had his head in his hands and he was crying quietly.

She wanted to run over and comfort him, but she had to fight the urge to do so. So, thinking quickly, she slowly backed up to the doorframe that separated the hallway from the dining room and quietly called out to him. "Sonic?" She called out to him, taking care not to make it sound like she knew he was crying. "Yeah?" He replied, jumping up and rubbing his eyes. She slowly walked into the living room toward him. "You OK? I got worried when I rolled over and you weren't there." She said. "No. I'm fine. I- uh... just got up cause I... had a cramp in my leg. Had to stretch, you know?" He said. She could tell right away that he was lying.

Sally put her arm around him, and sat down next to him. "What is it?" Sonic turned his head toward her, and he locked eyes with her. His eyes looked dead; a black void that had swallowed up whatever force filled them with life only hours before. They were the eyes of a broken man; like someone who had seen and done things that would have broken a normal man and driven him to the very edge of insanity, then gave them a gentle push over the line.

A chill ran down Sally's spine as she gazed into the void in his eyes. "What?" She asked, her voice sounding like a squeak. "I... I..." Sonic stammered, trying to find the words that just wouldn't come to him. Sonic started to speak, but instead of producing words, a familiar emotion washed over him like a tidal wave. His face scrunched up and he buried his face in the flannel nightgown Sally was wearing and he began to sob, openly and hard.

Sally embraced him quickly and wept a few quick tears in reaction to his own and she put her head against him and reassuringly stroked his head with the grace of a loving mother. "Shhhhhh. Let it out." She said softly. Her flannel top quickly developed wet spots where his tears had fallen. Sonic's weeping slowed down and she gently lifted his head off her breast and gave him a soft, comforting smile. "Now what's wrong?" She asked, her voice soft and comforting.

"I can't-" Sonic said, burying his head back in her flannel top. "Yes, you can." She said. She had been pushing for him to open up and talk, but not like this. He was hurting emotionally and all she wanted to do was take it away. Sonic pulled away and looked into her eyes. They were soft, reassuring and he took comfort in them.

He felt a wave of calm and he felt better just to have her next to him. "I don't know how you do it." Sonic said through a few lingering sobs. "But you always know how to make me feel better." Sally wiped his eyes with the edge of her sleeve. "Call it a gift. Now, what's wrong?" She said, in a loving, soothing tone of voice. He stayed silent for a few moments, then he took her hand in his. "Do you promise not to tell _anyone_ what I'm about to tell you?" Sonic asked.

"You know I won't." She said. "No." Sonic said in a serious tone. "_Promise me."_ Sonic said in a solemn voice. She looked into his eyes and without blinking she said. "I _promise._" With that, Sonic took a deep breath, cleared his throat and he began to talk.

Sonic started at the beginning. Arriving at Scourge's house, begging for help which Sally just couldn't see him actually doing. He continued, going through as much as his memory would allow and not holding anything back. His drug habits, from wolfing down handfuls of painkillers at first to drown out the pain, to smoking pot to offset said pain, to mainlining heroin because, in Sonic's words: 'Pot wasn't doing the trick anymore and I wanted something that would just fucking work.'

It was hard for him at first to reveal everything he was telling her, but once the ball was rolling, he found it easier to open up and Sally listened to every word that was coming out of his mouth. Sonic went on, telling the story of how Scourge kicked him out for stealing, how Judge had taken him in soon after and right up to the point where he left and found the rundown house he had lived in up until he had left Metropolis.

"I'd been living in that place for about a month. I had a little money that I had stolen from Scourge and a little that he'd given me right before he kicked me out. I don't know why he gave it to me, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, ya know?"

Sally nodded in agreement. "Eventually, the money I had ran out and I looked over and I had three needles left. I think, 'Aah. I'll be alright.' But I wasn't. They disappeared in a couple of days and when I had one left, I knew I was in trouble. I tried to think of anyway I could to make money. I tried to get a job, but in Metropolis, that's like waiting for a rainstorm in the desert. I thought about selling my blood, but there wasn't a place like that around there. Selling my semen was my next option, but one, Metropolis didn't have a sperm bank; two, if it did, they'd go broke trying to pay everyone and three, I couldn't get a hard on if I tried and believe me, I tried. Well, I did a couple of times, but I came so quick it might as well not have happened at all."

Sonic went silent after he finished his last sentence and he turned away from her. "What is it?" She asked. She grabbed his chin in her hand and gently turned his head back toward her and when he looked into her eyes, he began crying again. She could tell he was struggling to continue; his face was proof enough of that. Everything he had said up to the point where he had clammed up was doing him a world of good, but how, _how_ could he possibly tell someone he loved that he had both blown and jacked off complete strangers, and not only willingly done it for money, but it had begun to become a normal part of his life and became something that was so routine it had become as easy as breathing?

He wasn't crying, but it looked like he might burst into another round of tears at any moment. Sally didn't want to push him or try to coax anything out of him that he didn't want to talk about at that moment, but it was obvious he needed more help than just kicking the drugs. Sonic took another deep breath and with a shaky voice, he continued.

"I tried to come up... with someway to make- make some cash, but... I had no choice. The with- the withdrawals had started up the next day and I- I waited as long as I could..." Sonic put his hand up to his mouth and bit down on his index finger to keep himself from bursting out in tears. It passed and he continued. "But that night... I- I had no choice. That *choke* that night, I went down to the park and I- *sob* I went into a stall."

_No..._ Sally thought. _He didn't._ "I waited in that stall until I heard someone walk in and- and they went into the stall next to me. Next thing I know, his hand comes under the stall and he's hands me some cash. I took in and the next thing I know..." Sonic started tearing up. "I've got his dick in my hands and I'm..." He trailed off. He was sobbing again and he balled his hand up into a fist and he held it out in front of him and moved it back and forth as if he was pleasuring an invisible presence.

The sound of his crying broke Sally and she cried along with him. They sat on that couch and she held him in her arms, giving him what little comfort she could at that point. He buried his head into her breast once again, all the shame he had felt, everything he had been holding in up to that point finally coming out into the open.

It was a feeling he was used to by now and once the tears had stopped, naturally, he felt a hell of a lot better like he always did. He pulled away from Sally's loving grip and sat up on his own, wiping his eyes. She did the same and grabbed a tissue from a dispenser that was kept on the end table that was between the couch and the wall; it came in handy when Sally was watching one of her 'Chick flicks'.

She held one out to Sonic and he took it and wiped his eyes as well and blew his nose. Sally wadded hers up and palmed it. He turned toward her and said something that she honestly thought she'd never hear him ask. "I think I need help."

Later on...

Sonic woke up on the couch next to Sally, both still in each other's arms. She had held him until he had stopped crying and fell asleep, which she did as well. Sonic gently pulled out from under her grasp and quietly rose up off the couch, trying not to disturb her. _I need a shower._ He thought as he walked into the back of the house.

Last night had been one of the rare times that he'd really opened up to anyone. The only other person he'd ever really opened up to was Tails, and even then, he was selective about what he revealed. Sonic stripped off and stepped into the shower and pulled the knob for the hot water out and it came out with a burst of power that immediately shook the sleep from his brain.

*Nnngh* Sonic shook slightly as the sudden burst of water woke him up from his sluggish state. Those dreams he had were still in his mind; but these weren't like the one he had last night. These were one's he had been having for a long time. They were all about Amy. What she did to him, what he went through, things he thought she did to him. They were vivid and seemed to come to him randomly. Especially her 'punishments'. All she had to do was have one of her 'days', and she was liable to do anything to him. Lock him in his room for three days while she went and calmed down at her 'Screaming Place'. It was before she had began forcing him to rewrite his last book to satisfy her insane needs, so before that, he had nothing to occupy his time with.

His books had sold well and made he and Sally a nice little chunk of change to live off of, not to mention royalties. But the last book he did was the last one in the 'Misery' series in which the main character, Misery, was torn between two men she loved, one of which was the father of her baby but unknown to either of them. It was an idea that Sonic had been kicking around for a while after the 'War' ended and Robotnik had been defeated for good. Luckily, he had a knack for writing them and made a nice amount from them and had ran with it ever since. Unfortunately for Sonic, Misery died giving birth to her baby and the series ended with her death, which didn't sit too well with Amy. Now that she had him in her house, she could punish him for killing 'her' Misery and forcing him to re-write the final book just for her.

There were many kinds of 'punishments' she enforced on him. Like when she left for her 'Screaming Place' one day for three days with nothing to eat or drink; and when she came back, just to make him learn from his so called 'mistakes' he made, she ignored him for another two days. Wouldn't answer his pleas for help, bring him food, water, his pain meds. Just let him lie there and when she did come back into his room, she made out like nothing had happened and everything was normal.

But that was nothing compared to the times she actually left him with something to eat and drink, plus he got to leave his room. But on these occasions, she left him for almost a week at a time. In the basement. With the rats and the darkness and only a small, dirty mattress to sleep on with no blanket to keep him warm. Oh, those times were fun. But at least she left him with something to eat. Week old cheese that had already began to harden and grow mold. And the drinks weren't that bad either. Two liters of soda that had dried ice cream stains and God-knows-what around the lip of the bottle from her one woman all night binge eating contests.

And he did have the rats to keep him company and bite him at night along with the bitter thirty degree basement to keep warm. The basement was a simple brick and cement room and had no insulation, which dropped a few stars from it's overall rating. Then the last night he was there, when the sheriff found him and he thought he was going to get rescued. But no, Amy saw that he was full of hope and dreams and had to crush it; with a double barrel deer slug blast, straight to the sheriffs back, blowing out his chest cavity and causing him to fall down the stairs, right next to Sonic where he could watch the old man die slowly and gaze longingly into his dying eyes. Aah, memories.

But at that time, even though he didn't want to, he had to check out. When Amy disappeared he grabbed the can of lighter fluid that was next to the barbeque grill and stuck in in the waste band of the sweats he was wearing. He was just about done writing 'her' new 'Misery' book and he knew once he finished, she was going to kill them both. So, thinking quickly, he stuffed the can down his pants and she came down and picked up his ten pound frame and carried him up the stairs, the whole time hoping she wouldn't notice the can in his waist band.

Once he was back in his room, she gave a small speech about how he was going to be taken away from her and how if she couldn't have him, no one could and blah, blah, blah and at the end of her speech, she told him, with every ounce of crazy in her head, "I love you."

Sonic remembered every bit of those last few hours he had been in the house. Once she said those words, instead of telling her off or something that would've made him feel better he said this: "I love you too." He said those words in the most sincere tone of voice he could muster, and she bought it. "And you're right. We we're meant to be together."

Those words melted her heart and at that moment, he thought he might be able to get her to do anything he wanted to, but decided against it. Her face contorted to that happy, schoolgirl smile and she let out a high pitched scream and probably soaked her panties at his words, then he continued on. "I'm almost finished with the book and you know what that means."

In her excitement, she forgot everything about him; she knew him better than he knew himself. She was a self proclaimed '#1 Fan' and if she was herself, she would've known what she meant. After every book he finished, he had one bottle of champagne, a match and a single cigarette. He hated smoking, but he always had one after completing every book. He never inhaled though; it was just an odd habit he had.

She gathered herself, and even tried to get an advanced hint of what was going to happen in the final pages of her beloved 'Misery'. Who was the father of Misery's baby? Who did she choose to be with, the father of her baby or the man she had a one night stand with? All the standard romance novel plot twists. But he denied her and she scolded him for making her wonder and she went off to get what he needed. He stopped her and before she left he told her that he would need two glasses. Her eyes lit up and she completly soaked her panties as she felt honored to be included in his tradition. She smiled and left and while she was away, he took the entire manuscript, which had taken him six months to write and laid it on the ground and took the can of fluid out and doused the pages with it, making sure to coat the middle of the hefty block of paper.

He grabbed the final page and rolled it up in his hand like a torch and took the match in the other and held it in front of him. When she returned, holding the two glasses, she saw the book on the floor, soaking in lighter fluid and him holding the match and final page in his hand. He remembered it clearly than any other moment he had with her. It was time to extract his revenge and it was burned into his mind and would remain until the day he died.

His words still rang loudly in his head. He said: "You know how Misery never told Ian and Winthorne who the father of her baby was?" He kept his voice cold, calculating every word to cause maximum damage to her psyche. "And who did she love? Ian? Winthorne?" Sonic struck the match just like he planned. One handed, with his thumbnail. Luckily, it struck and he held it just far enough from the page where it wouldn't catch fire, but just barely.

Her heart was breaking at the sight of it all and she almost dropped the glasses. "Sonic you can't!" She protested. He squinted and reveled as she was the one in pain. "Why not?" He said coldly and calmly. "I learned it from you." With that, he set fire to his torch and laid it on the pile of fluid soaked papers on the floor and they went up with a joyous *FOOM*. Amy screamed, dropped the champagne glasses and scrambled to the ground, trying to put them out.

This was his chance. Quickly, he reached over and picked up the typewriter and held it above his head. He had been using it as a makeshift weight set and he had the strength to lift the 40+ pound machine above his head and brought it crashing down on her head, a sickening yet pleasant *Thud* resonating through the room.

But it barely phased her and she quickly recovered and Sonic sat dumbfounded. He knew that should've at least knocked her out, but he forgot he was dealing with 'Super Bitch'. She stood up, and with a rage in her eyes, she drew a pistol out of her pocket, aimed it at him and fired. "AAAGH!" Sonic yelped at the round missed everything vital and struck him in the shoulder. She tried to fire again, but luck was on his side for once and the gun jammed. Recovering quickly and fighting for his life at that point, he charged her in the chair and tackled her; both of them went to the ground, rolling around, the other trying to get the upper hand.

Sonic managed to climb on top of her and he reached over and grabbed a handful of the burnt manuscript, which by now was a warm, soggy mess. Holding a handful of it above his head, he grinned and yelled triumphantly, "YOU WANT IT? YOU WANT IT? EAT IT! EAT IT 'TIL YOU CHOKE YOU SICK, TWISTED FUCK!" He gleefully jammed the burnt mess into her mouth and watched as she started choking on it, the burnt paper mixing with her saliva and dripping down the back of her throat.

She threw him off of her and he landed next to her a few inches away. _That felt good._ He thought. But he didn't have time to celebrate. Summoning his strength, or what remained, he began dragging himself toward the door and toward freedom. But Amy, in typical bitch fashion, she began crawling after him, in a fucked up slow speed pursuit.

He looked around for some kind of weapon and a second later, he saw it: A small metal statue of a pig, about six inches in length. It looked like it had some weight and thought it would make a useful weapon; plus it was the only option he had. Sonic began crawling toward it and she managed to slow him down, but after a great struggle, he managed to grab it and he stopped and let her climb on top of him. She was behind him and couldn't see the statue he was clamoring for and hence, she never saw it coming. She mounted him and reached back to smash him in the face, but he reached back with the statue, which had a far better heft to it than he originally thought, and cracked her across the face with it. That first shot stunned her which set him up for his next shot.

He reached back as far as he could and cracker straight in the face with it. Unbeknownst to him, that first shot had broken her nose and when he took that last one, it caused a piece of bone to drive into her brain, killing her almost instantly. But Amy, in typical bitch fashion, didn't die right away. Her motor functions were still active and when he lowered his weapon, her head tilted down and their eyes locked. They had lost that crazy, insane look, replaced with kindness. She no longer looked like Amy. She looked... normal.

She mouthed something that Sonic couldn't make out, and slumped over next to him; her heart struggled to stay beating, but gave up and stopped and with one final, gurgling breath, Amy died right next to him, her face turned toward him, staring at her with those dead eyes.

Sonic tossed the weight aside and pulled himself from underneath her dead weight and stared at her for several seconds. He didn't feel joy, or revel in the fact he was free from her insane grasp. Instead of celebrating like he planned, he started weeping. He felt sorry for her, the babies she had killed while she was working as a nurse in the hospital he read about in the scrapbook she kept, the families of said babies, but most of all, he wept for her. Now she was free from the mental illness that kept it's cold grip on her and now she was finally free.

After resting for a while, he grabbed the keys she kept on her, climbed in his chair and rolled out of the prison that was his room and into the kitchen. He grabbed a few things, a couple of sodas to drink and a sandwich she had made for him to eat that night, along with a few odds and ends that he could find; snack cakes and sweet things she always kept on hand when she got up late at night to shove in her mouth. Sonic could never figure out how she managed to stay so thin and eat all that sweet crap. After that, he rolled himself to the closet she used as a storage/supply room and grabbed a blister pack from a shelf and popped four of the painkillers she had been feeding him and his pain disappeared.

Sonic closed the door and rolled back into the kitchen and stuffed everything in a bag he grabbed off the counter, grabbed the keys to her truck and rolled out the front door. He made his way to her truck, climbed in, cranked the heater and made for the nearest town.

Sonic shut the shower off, feeling no better than when he had stepped in. He thought it would kind of perk him up in some way but all it did was wake him up. He stepped out and toweled off and slipped his boxers on and walked out of the bathroom. He went to turn into the bedroom and change and saw Sally in the kitchen, fixing her a cup of coffee, and she noticed him out of the corner of her eye. "You want one?" She asked holding out a cup. "Yeah." He said half-heartedly. "Okay." She said and went about making him one while he went into the bedroom and began changing into a fresh set of clothes.

He came out a minute later, wearing black jeans and a red T-Shirt. Sonic walked over to the table and sat down and took a sip of his coffee. "Thanks." He said.

"You Ok?" Sally asked. He still had that depressed attitude about him and it was understandable after what he had told her. "Yeah. I was just thinking about... 'her'." He said, emphasizing the word 'her'. It didn't take a therapist to see that everything that happened to him, from Metropolis to his painkiller addiction and pot and heroin abuse to his depression, all stemmed from Amy. He had just been using the drugs as a coping mechanism and his anger and lashing out at Sally and his friends was a way of keeping himself from facing those demons.

"It was great at first. She rescued me, you know. Took me into her home, fixed me up. I thought she was just a good person, helping out someone that needed it..." Without hesitating, Sonic told Sally about his time with Amy and everything he had gone through. _Everything_. He was tired of holding everything back and he wanted to get everything out into the open. And it felt _good. He had been carrying a huge weight on his shoulders and now it had been removed._

_He felt like a new man. Sally on the other hand, sat by his side, listening to his story, angry for what she had put him through, just because she was a fan of his books. A couple of hours later when he finished, she wiped the few tears that had rolled down her face from the anger and sadness._

"_You know, sometimes I have a dream about her house. She isn't there, but we're living in it. But the weird thing is, it's her stuff in there." Sonic said. Sally saw that as an opportunity and she jumped on it. "You ever think about going back there?" She asked. Sonic glared at her. Not an angry glare, but a confused glare._

_She immediately regretted what she said, but it was out in the open and she couldn't take it back. "I'm sorry." She said quickly. Sonic reached over and put a hand on hers. He had never given it a thought. Why would he do that? Go back and face the horrors all over again and confront those dark, demented memories? Before now, if she had suggested that, he would've dismissed that and never given it a second thought. But that was before._

_Now he realized, finally realized that going back, facing those demons and confronting his past was the only way he could truly move on. Instead of dismissing it like Sally thought he would, he just gently placed his hand on hers and said, "I'll go on one condition."_

"_What's that?" She asked._

"_Will you go with me?" He asked in a shaky, unsure tone._

_She nodded. "Of course I will." She leaned forward and gave him a small kiss. "I'm not going to let you go through something like that by yourself."_

_Going back there was half the battle. Actually acting on that decision was a whole other matter._

_A/N: While I was writing the part where Sonic was reminiscing about Amy, I was going over Misery and picking out a couple of parts of that story to include in that little flashback and had a thought. If anyone wants to take a crack at this one and tell their own version of it, please do. I'd like to see someone else try their hand at it. Of course, like I've said before, I only used the movie and book as a precursor to get this one. If you want to, shoot me an E-mail and tell me you want to take a shot at it and your author name so I know when you upload and I can read it in case I don't have you down as an Author Alert. Thanks for reading. Review if you want to._


	23. Chapter 23: Silver Springs

Chapter 23

Silver Springs

Rated T

Quick A/N: Okay, I don't have a lot of confidence in this chapter, especially toward the end, but after working on it and re-writing over a five day period, this is what made the cut. I hope you still enjoy it.

"You really think I'd let you go through something like that by yourself?" Sally asked. What kind of person would she be if the thought even crossed her mind? Sonic shook his head. It was one thing to talk about it, it was another to actually go through with the idea. It had been well over a year since he'd escaped from his hellish prison, vowing to himself never to go back there unless he was given the opportunity to burn the house down. But now it was staring him in the face. Facing those demons was the only way he'd be able to move on with his life, but facing those horrors...

"I know it's hard." Sally said. "I'm not going to tell you 'I know what it's like' or 'I know what you're going through', but if you want to go, I'll go with you and I'll face it with you."

Sonic stared at the ground and let out a deep breath. Even though he said he was willing to return to the source of it all, he said it for reasons he didn't understand. "Can I have a few minutes alone?" He said in a voice so low Sally almost didn't hear him. "Y-yeah. Sure." She said. She got up from her chair, placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him another small kiss, then walked over to the large sliding glass door that led out to the backyard and left him with his thoughts. She watched as he got up from his chair and slowly walked over to the window in the living room and stared out at nothing. _I can't even begin to imagine what's going through his head._ She thought.

Outside it was one of those days that seemed perfect. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot. Slight breeze blowing; just a picture perfect day. But not to him. Inside he felt empty, drained of all feeling and emotions. Just a shell of himself. Depression was an odd condition. One minute, you're happy and on top of the world. But when you came down off that high, you hit hard and with no cushion underneath you. Every emotion was multiplied by five and anything that made you feel remotely happy was locked in a box and shoved into a closet in the recesses of the mind behind the towels.

_I can't believe I actually said I'd go back to that place. What the fuck is wrong with me?_

Sally meanwhile, sat down on a small hill just beyond the fence that separated their yard from the rest of the property out back and watched the day pass by. Their backyard would've been _much_ larger if not for the fence, but it was just there to mark the back yard. Thanks to Sonic's book sales along with royalties, they managed to buy a large plot of land. About five acres altogether which gave them plenty of room to move around. A large field of grass, dotted with trees intermittently breaking up the empty landscape. It was nice all year around and would've made for a good photo op.

Sally kicked her shoes off and let her feet run through the grass, which tickled the soles of her feet temporarily taking her mind off of Sonic. But her thoughts turned to him again. From what he had told her, it was a nightmare that would've driven even the sanest person crazy. She wasn't even sure he had told her everything that happened to him and if he was holding anything back, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know about it anyway. What he told her was horrible enough.

While she gave him the time he asked for, he thought about her suggestion with a little more clarity. It made sense in the fact that it would be healthy for him mentally to deal with it, but it came with a few problems. It might be too much for him to bear and he could turn back to drugs to deal with it. He might have a nervous breakdown from the experience, or worse case scenario, he might try to commit suicide.

After a nice stretch of time, mulling everything over and watching the clouds float by, she came up with nothing and decided to go back inside. She slipped her shoes back on and walked back up to the house and through the sliding glass door and shut it behind her. Inside the house, it was quiet and she didn't see Sonic anywhere. Sally went into the living room, but he wasn't in there and the front door was still locked. _Probably in the bathroom._ She walked over to the bathroom door and turned the knob, but it was unlocked.

_Bedroom._ Sally opened that door and saw that he was in their room, lying on the bed with his back turned toward her. "Sonic?" She softly called out, not wanting to disturb him. He didn't say anything or acknowledge her presence. "Sonic?" She repeated. Nothing.

She walked around the other side of the bed and saw he wasn't asleep, but staring out the window. "You alright?" Sally asked. Sonic nodded his head with just enough effort to make it move a half-inch. This was a scary moment. It was like he was shutting down mentally. She could see it in his eyes. They still had that 'Lights on but no one's home' look to them.

"Sonic, you're starting to scare me." Sally said. She was beginning to get emotional and scared from the way he was acting. "Say something. Please." She pleaded as tears began welling up in her eyes. He remained silent, continuing to just stare out the window. Tears fell from her eyes freely now as she sat down on the bed next to him, lightly stroking the side of his head. She didn't know what else to do.

_Maybe I should call-_ "I don't know if I can."

Sally jumped slightly off the mattress as Sonic's words broke the silence of the room. "What? You mean go back there?" Sally asked. Sonic nodded. Sally felt instant relief as he began to speak again. That was a scary moment, up there with his withdrawals. She lay down next to him and put her arm around him and he scooted closer to her. He grabbed her arm with his hand and squeezed it gently and she returned the gesture.

"I'm not going to pretend like I have the answer. But whatever you decide, I'll be with you every step of the way." She said.

A Few Days Later...

It was a tense couple of days after that initial conversation about Sonic's return to 'her' house. He had been mulling the idea over in his head, weighing every option and considering the pros and cons, giving it a _great_ deal of thought.

He did apologize to her for scaring her with that little breakdown he had the other day, but she said she completely understood and let it go. The days after that though, Sonic was quiet. Again, understandably so in Sally's eyes. But one night a few days later while they were in bed watching TV like they did every night, Sonic grabbed the remote and turned it off which meant he wanted to talk.

"What is it?" Sally asked. "I'm sorry I've been quiet the last couple of days." Sonic said.

"I told you it was all right." Sally said. "I know. But I've thought about, you know, going back there." Sonic said. Sally nodded. "I know I said I would go back there, but I'm not even sure why I said that in the first place. I guess I was in shock from the idea of going back there, but I still want to go through with it." It was the truth. She could see it on his face and in his eyes. They had that spark in them and she felt better.

He was right. Most times when someone suffered a deep psychological trauma, say being molested or raped or in Sonic's case, suffering severe physical and psychological trauma; if the person doesn't deal with it, i.e. confronting their abuser or, in Sonic's case, returning to the place where it all happened and realizing it was all over was the only way to move on.

So they talked about it for a while and decided to leave in three days. Long enough for Sonic to prepare for the journey and give the idea some more thought. They both tried to go about there normal routine, but the fact Sonic was going to return Amy's was always in the back of both their mind's.

The day came for them to leave and Sally woke up around five that morning which was odd for her since she usually woke up after eight. But she hadn't been able to get much sleep that night, only sacking a couple of hours on and off. She always slept with her arm around Sonic and this morning when she woke up and didn't feel his body, she knew something was up. _I hope he's not having another breakdown._ Sally jumped up and pulled her slippers on and walked out of the bedroom into the dark hallway.

She hated seeing Sonic when he was having one of his crying jags and it hurt her just as much as it hurt him. When she walked into the hallway, she listened for the telltale sound of his weeping, but her ears were met with silence. Upon not hearing anything, she turned on the hall light, which spilled through the frame cut into the wall and into the dining room and part of the living room. She looked around and she didn't see him in the kitchen or on the couch.

_Door's still locked._ She thought as she went over to check the front door. She didn't see a note lying around anywhere which meant he hadn't ran off again. "Hmm." _Maybe he..._ Sally went over to the sliding glass door and parted the hanging blinds and saw the lock had been opened. Opening it, she stepped outside into the cool of the early morning.

It wasn't freezing by any means, but it was still nippy and the clouds that hung in the sky covered the moon. It was a very odd sky. Grayish blue, fields of stars shining through breaks in the clouds that were glowing faintly from the moon in the same grayish blue hue that dimly lit the outside up.

Sally looked around the yard but didn't see him. She walked down to the fence and looked out at the vast field. Off in the distance, sitting on a hill, she saw him; he was staring up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by just as she did a few days ago. He was even in the same spot as she had been. It was a special spot to both of them. During the summer, they liked to sit in that spot at night and just watch the sky and be close to each other.

Sally unlatched the gate and walked through, her flannel nightgown fluttering in the light breeze and walked up to Sonic and sat down next to him. "Morning." She said. "Morning." He replied. His voice sounded normal and didn't have that depressed ring to it, which relieved a lot of the thoughts she had about him in the last few minutes. "What're you doing out here so early?" She asked. It wasn't like him to be out here in the middle of the field, staring up at the moon. "Just thinking." He said, turning toward her. The clouds broke and bathed the two in the glow of the moon.

Sally stayed by his side until the sun came up then they went inside and started getting ready to leave. After getting a shower in and Sally packing everything they might need and a little more, they were ready to head off. "That's everything." Sally said, shutting the trunk. She noticed he was nervous, but he was trying to hide it from her. He didn't want to her to worry about him anymore than she already was. "You still want to do this?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sonic said, his voice far more confident than he looked. _I just hope I can._ Inside he wanted to call it off, but what good would that do?

"Let's get going." Sonic said, walking around to the other side of the car and sliding in. Sally locked the house up and got into the driver side.

Silver Springs, the town Sonic had driven to when he stole Amy's truck, wasn't very far from her house; it was just a few miles outside of town. Sally started the car up, backed out of the driveway and headed toward Silver Springs.

Seven Hours Later...

Sally pulled into the motel for the night; it was one of those places that had small cabins instead of rooms, which meant you didn't have to hear your neighbors fighting or having sex or a combination of both. It was a little after five and the sun was already starting to set. _I can finally get out of this car._ She thought as she pulled up to the office. Her legs were stiff and she wanted to get a room, get some food and get some sleep. Sonic, who had been quiet the last three hours of the trip and spent most of the drive staring out at the window at the scenery as it passed by, was looking around like he had just woken up.

"I don't know about you," Sally said, reaching over and shutting the engine off. "But I need to stretch my legs." They were stiff as anyone's would be after seven straight hours of driving. "Same here." Sonic said. His words caught her off guard. He hadn't really said much the last few hours and it was nice to know he hadn't shut down mentally.

They both got out and walked into the motel's office together. The office was empty but there was one of those little bell's sitting on the counter and Sally gave it a slap and it rang out with a loud *DING*. A minute later, the clerk walked out from behind a door. He was an older man, tall. Sally figured he was in his early sixties by the color of his salt & pepper colored hair; he also had the look of a man that didn't take guff from anyone. He reminded Sally of an old ranch hand.

"Howdy." He said in a friendly tone. "I take it y'all need a room." He said in a slight drawl. "Yeah." Sally said.

"Sign in." He said, pushing a guest book toward her. She grabbed a pen off the counter and signed her name, then put the pen down. "Both of you together?" The clerk asked her. Sally nodded and he pushed the book to Sonic. "Gotta sign in too." He said. Sonic let out a breath and grabbed the pen and signed his name just underneath hers.

When he was finished, the clerk looked at their names and reached behind him and turned around to a pegboard behind him, dotted with keys to the empty cabins. He reached down and grabbed one and set it on the counter. "How long'll you be staying?" He asked.

"Not really sure. Couple of days at least." She said. "It's thirty a night. That alright with y'all?" He asked Sally. She nodded and pulled the money out of her purse and handed it to him. He took it and jotted something down on another slip of paper and stuck it behind the desk. "Okay." He said, pushing the key toward Sally. "If you need anything, just call and I'll see what I can do. Name's Frank."

"Thanks Frank." Sally said. "Thank you. Have a good one." Frank said and walked back through the door he came out of. Sonic and Sally walked back to the car and they drove the short distance to where their cabin was and she parked it and they got out again. "Can you unlock the door?" Sally asked, handing Sonic the key to the cabin. He nodded and took the key while she went to retrieve the overnight bags out of the trunk. "Maybe I packed too much." She said, struggling to balance one of the bags in her hand.

After a few seconds, she managed to get a handle on both bags and shut the trunk, but when she looked up expecting to see a light on inside the cabin, she saw Sonic still standing next to the car door, staring at the key in his hand. Sally set the bags on the trunk and walked over to him. "What is it?" She asked. He was staring intently at the key, like it was the crucial piece of evidence he needed to solve a murder, yet he couldn't figure out where it fit.

"It's ironic. This is the exact same room I stayed in when I had the accident." Sonic said. Sally gasped and felt her knees go weak, but she managed to catch herself. "Oh-oh God. I'm sorry. I had no-" Sonic stopped her.

"It's ok. You didn't know." He said, flashing her a smile then walking over and unlocked the door. Sally felt her stomach knot up and she wanted to throw up. The urge to grab the cabin key from him and get another room was strong, but she knew him and he'd just tell her that it was ok. So, she swallowed the lump in her throat and grabbed the bags off the trunk and walked inside.

The cabin itself was nice. It was built just like a log cabin, logs patched with a mixture of cement and painted brown to mimic the look of mud that was supposed to be used to patch gaps in the logs to keep the cold out. The inside was small, but comfortable. Large king size beds with flannel blankets, TV, small table and a couple of chairs. An electric coffeepot and a couple of small bags of coffee for the guests sat atop the dresser.

"It's beautiful." Sally said, setting the bags on the bed. "Yeah." Sonic said. To her surprise, he was coping quite well being back in the same place where it had all began; of course, it was still too early to tell how he was going to handle it.

"Yeah. That's why I used to come up here." Sonic said. "I can see why." Sally said, running a hand over the bed. On the pillows were two chocolate mints with a note that read, "Compliments of the management." A little clichéd, yes. But still nice to see. Sally opened up one of the bags and dug through it and pulled out a smaller bag that was buried inside and took it in the bathroom. She turned on the light and it was just as impressive as the rest of the cabin.

There was a large mirror in front of the sink and the lights resembled lanterns, giving it a rustic feeling. The sinks were covered in a faux marble covering and the faucets were chrome. Two plastic glasses and various small soaps and shampoos, all in travel size bottles lined the sink, waiting to be opened. The shower was big enough for two, but the one thing that stuck out in her mind, was the toilet seat. It wasn't plastic like most of them were. In keeping with the theme of the motel, it was wood.

Sally unpacked the bag, which she had packed with a few items she needed and walked out of the bathroom. Sonic was sitting at the table, staring out the window. "You know, all it has to is snow a few inches and it would be just like it was that night." He said.

Sally set the empty bag down on the bed and walked over to the table and sat down on the other side. "If you want, I could ask for another room." She said. It was obvious he was uncomfortable being in the cabin and she was willing to change it for him.

"Nah. They're all the same. But there is one difference from last time."

"What's that?" Sally asked. "You're here with me." He said, and leaned in and gave her a kiss. She smiled and blushed. "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now." He said.

"You're worried about me, aren't you?" He asked. Just like him, she had been trying to hide those emotions from him, but it wasn't easy. Sally nodded. "Yeah. You didn't say much on the way up here and I gotta tell you, that was scary." She said.

"I'm sorry bout that. I was just thinking, you know. But don't worry. I'll be fine." He said. Of course, that was easier said than done. "Now. What do you say we go out and get something to eat?" He asked. Sally nodded and grabbed her purse. "Yeah. I'm starving." They locked the door to the cabin and got in the car and started it up. "Whadd'ya feel like having?" Sally asked as she backed away from the cabin.

They drove around for a good twenty minutes, checking out every place to eat at. Their stomachs were grumbling and they settled on a small diner. They walked in and sat down and the waitress gave them the standard water, silverware wrapped in a napkin and a menu.

She said she'd give them a minute to decide and walked away from the table. Sonic and Sally poured over the menu, studying every picture and eating with their eyes. "I don't know." Sally murmured. "Whadd'ya think?" She asked Sonic as she set the menu down on the table.

"I dunno." He said. His voice was shaking and the menu in his hands was starting to tremble. Sally raised an eyebrow and reached over and pulled the menu away from his face. He was sweating and his eyes were shifting from side to side slowly. "Oh jeez." Sally said. She reached into her purse and took out the bottle of pills. The waitress came back and noticed what was happening.

"Is he ok?" She asked as she watched Sally opening the bottle and taking one of the massive pills and breaking it in half. "Do you have anything he could eat right now?" She said in a quiet but stern tone. "I-I think so. I'll be right back." She said, quickly making her way behind the counter and into the kitchen.

Sally broke one of the broken pill halves and got up and walked over to his side of the table. He was becoming increasingly worse. "Sonic!" She said in a hushed voice so as not to alarm the rest of the diner to what was going on. The last thing they needed were a bunch of strangers gawking at him. "Sonic!" She said again, this time she shook him to get his attention. He slowly turned his head toward her and his eyes were half-open and he was already beginning to feel warm to the touch.

"Mmmmm?" He moaned. His speech was starting to become affected by it as well, but it was getting worse quickly. "Take this." She said, popping one of the pill halves in his mouth. "augay." He mumbled, opening his mouth and trying to swallow the pill. She held the glass of water up to his mouth and he took a drink from it, and she followed up with the other half of the pill and another drink of water.

The waitress came back out carrying a small plate with a piece of toast and one of those small boxes of jelly. "I grabbed the first thing I saw." She said, setting it on the table. "Is he going to be all right? Should I call an ambulance?" She asked.

"No." Sally said. "Just low blood sugar." She said. She tore open the small package of jelly and grabbing one of the pieces of toast, she quickly spread it on with her finger and held it to his mouth. "Here." She said and Sonic, although it looked like he was completely out of it, took a bite, then another one. A few minutes later, the pills kicked in and he returned to normal. He wiped his head with his arm and finished the glass of water.

"You sure you're gonna be ok?" The waitress asked Sonic. He nodded. "Yeah. When my sugar drops like that, I just take one of those pills and I snap out of it in a few minutes." He said. Whenever they were out in public, they chalked it up to diabetes and low sugar levels since they closely resembled the symptoms of the sudden onset of heroin withdrawals. It was better than calling it drug withdrawals.

"Okay. I'll give you a little more time to order hon." She said and walked away from the table, taking the empty plate that had the bread on it. Hearing her call him 'hon' reminded him of the diner in Metropolis. "One of these days, I'll have to take you to a little spot I found a while back." He said, picking up the menu again.

After the withdrawal incident, they had a nice meal and it took their mind's off why they were really there and they actually had a good time. "That was good." Sally said, taking out a few bills from her purse and handing them to the waitress. "Glad you liked it." She said, handing Sally her change, which she tossed lazily in her purse. "You take care now hon." The waitress said to Sonic.

Hearing her call him 'hon' again triggered the memories of Sarah and he excused himself and went out to the car. She thanked them and went back to work while Sally went out to the car where Sonic was.

"Feeling ok?" She asked, referring to his withdrawal incident earlier. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He said, climbing in the car and buckling up. Sally started the car up and headed back to the motel and she pulled in and shut the engine off. Sonic was feeling a little sick thanks to the Methadone, but that would go away once he got inside and laid down for a while. Sally could see it on his face and shook her head.

She unlocked the door and Sonic headed over to the bed and laid down, pulling his shoes and socks off with his feet and stretching out on the bed. "Ahh." He sighed as his stomach began to calm down. Sally walked in, locked the door and set her purse down and grabbed the other bag, tossed it in the closet and laid down next to him.

"Feeling better?" She asked him. He nodded and scooted up on the pillow. "I wish we had our pillows here." He said, pulling the one that the motel provided and tried to fluff it up. But they were so flat that you might as well sleep on nothing. So he folded it in half and laid back down and grabbed the remote for the TV.

They laid on the bed and watched until they started nodding off and they agreed to call it a night. Sonic turned the TV off, stripped down to his boxers; Sally changed into another of her flannel nightgowns, a forest green/black pattern. The lights went off and they gave each other a good night kiss. "I love you ." Sally said. "I love you too." Sonic said. She smiled and rolled over and Sonic put his arm around her and she drifted off to sleep. Sonic, meanwhile, had way too much on his mind to sleep and he spent a good couple of hours staring at the ceiling thinking until he drifted off himself.

He bolted upright and swung his legs over the side of the bed, breathing heavily. He had another one of his nightmares and he was on the verge of crying. He got up as silently as he could and went into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet seat in the dark to try to calm himself down. It was one of his Amy dreams where she did some kind of horrible act to him, but this time, it was different from the others. It started out normally enough; he was having a picnic in a park. Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Tails and Knuckles sat under the shade of a large tree, eating nice lunch Sally had made.

They were all talking and joking around like they always did, but that's where any sense of normalcy ended. There was no sound at all. None. Their mouth's were moving, but no sound came out; it resembled a silent movie. Then, far off in the distance, Sonic noticed someone walking toward them. He couldn't make out who it was, but there was a familiarity about the person making their way toward him and Sonic began walking toward the figure. He got closer and began to make out the figures clothing. A brown jacket with white fur trim, blue jeans, brown cowboy boots and cowboy hat; the same clothes he had been wearing when he was shot. A silver star was pinned on the breast pocket of the jacket and he had a revolver hanging from the holster strapped to his hip.

His face was withered, but showed a lifetime of experience, a white moustache and hair flowing from underneath the hat sitting atop his head. To his surprise, it was Buster, the sheriff that had found him lying in the basement floor of Amy's house before he had taken the shotgun blast to the back.

Sonic realized who it was and ran toward him and hugged him, relieved he was alive. Buster returned the hug and said he was happy to see Sonic alive and well; even though it was completely silent, Sonic could understood every word that was being said. They walked back to where the others were and Sonic introduced him to the other four and they invited Buster to join them.

That's when everything came crashing down around him. Just as Buster started to sit down, the silence was broken by a single loud gunshot. The moment the gunshot rang out, time seemed to slow down and Sonic watched as Buster lurched forward as the blast hit him from behind and he fell to the ground, twitched and died. When he looked around for the reason behind the gunshot, he saw right behind where Buster had been standing, holding the shotgun and pulling it back to reload it, a sick, twisted grin on her face.

He moved to stop her and she leveled the gun again and another shot rang out as a round struck Shadow in the chest, knocking him down and killing him. Sonic screamed, yet no sound came out as Amy leveled the gun and fired again, hitting Knuckles and dropping him to the ground and killing him.

Blue turned his head as Amy pointed the gun at Tails and the fox managed to get in the air and charge at her. She was only fifteen feet away and Tails was fast, but Amy, being the demon she was, pulled the trigger and hit Tails. His face contorted in pain and surprise as the round buried itself into his chest, blood squirting out from the wound and he dropped out of the sky and skidded for a few inches. He stayed alive long enough to experience the dirt grind into his open wound, tearing and scratching at the tender muscles underneath like sandpaper and leaving a small blood trail behind him.

The last one left was Sally and Sonic mustered up all his speed and rushed to get in front of her and shield her from the blast. Sally looked at him, he looked at her and he reached out to grab her hand. Sally reached out as well- *BLAM*!

Sonic heard the blast and watched helplessly as the pellets moved through the air, soaring toward her at fantastic speed. Sonic took a desperation leap and jumped toward Sally and somehow managed to grab her and push her out of the way, tackling her to the ground. They landed and he opened his eyes, but his actions were in vain as he had jumped a half-second early and the round struck her square in the chest. Sonic, crying and seeing red, jumped up and spun around and locked in on Amy, who calmly looked at him with that sick grin.

"I'm going to kill you." He said with no sound coming out of his mouth. He didn't care if she hit him or not. He was going to get his hands on her for what she had done. He knew it was suicide to attempt what he was about to do, but he took a step forward and just like he predicted, she grinned, fired and Sonic watched as the pellets from the shell rushed toward him and he knew that was it. He closed his eyes and just as they came into contact with the fur on his chest, he was bolting upright on the bed.

Sonic sat in the darkness of the bathroom, trying to calm his mind and body down. He was shaking and his heart was racing from the whole experience and he wished that he had something to calm him down, like a cigarette or a drink.

But that wasn't an option so he just sat in the dark and managed to calm down after sitting quietly for a while in the dark and he got up, walked out of the bathroom and back over to the bed and crawled next to Sally. _Huh. Kinda weird she didn't wake up when I got up._

It was a little after four and Sonic tried to get some sleep, but he wasn't able to and laid there until Sally woke up a little before eight. Sonic saw that she was stirring and didn't want anything to seem off and he pretended he was asleep and when he was sure she was awake, he opened his eyes.

"Morning." She said, planting a kiss on him. "Morning." He said, returning the gesture. "You sleep well?" She asked, sitting up on the side of the bed. _No._ "More or less. I think it was the bed." Sonic said, getting up and stretching. "You?" "Can't complain." She said, standing up and walking over to the coffeepot. "You want a cup?" She asked. "Yeah." He said. It didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment; Sally fiddled with the pot and Sonic walked into the bathroom and did the morning routine: brush his teeth, comb his hair, etc. etc. Sally walked in a minute later and held the pot under the faucet to pour in the pot's water reservoir. "You ok?" She asked. He looked odd to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. If she had been awake, she would've figured it out in a second, but she had just woken up and wasn't herself yet.

"I'm fine. Just sleeping on that bed." He said, spitting a mouthful of toothpaste in the sink. "Mmm." She murmured and walked back into the room. "Yeah. My neck's a little sore." He heard her say.

Sonic finished up in the bathroom and walked out. Sally had finished up with the coffee and was going through the closet, rummaging through the bags of clothes. Sonic picked up the clothes he had been wearing yesterday and tossed them on the bed. Sally tossed a sweater, shirt, panties and a pair of pants on the bed and Sonic started getting dressed.

"You feel like going out and getting some breakfast?" She asked, shutting the closet door and walking back over to the bed and collecting her clothes. "Yeah." Sonic nodded. He was hungry and figured at the very least it would be a nice distraction. "Give me about fifteen minutes." She said, smiling and walking into the bathroom.

Sonic sat on the bed and stared at the floor. His latest nightmare was much more intense than the others had been. It wasn't surprising considering he was close to her house, but he was still a little unnerved by it. _Get a grip. It was only a dream. You don't need her worrying about you more than she already is. She's already done enough for you and she doesn't need more crap on top of what she's dealing with right now. So just push it somewhere in the back and deal with it later._

Blue closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths and he felt calm enough where he felt he could hide his problems from her for now. He finished getting dressed and tossed the dirty clothes that were on the floor into the closet and shut the door and grabbed a cup of coffee and sat by the window and stared out.

It was one of those nice end of winter days. Cold outside, but not cold enough to snow. The mountains off in the distance still had a heavy dusting and being a mountain community; pine and evergreen trees surrounded it.

Sonic took a sip of the coffee and set the cup back down on the table. _Today's gonna be fun. Sally walked out of the bathroom a couple minutes later, a towel wrapped around her body. "This is why I hate taking showers when it's cold outside." She said. She was shaking and went over and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Any good?" She asked, holding the cup up in front of her._

"_Not bad." Sonic said, taking a sip. Sally took one and set it on the table. "Meh." She shrugged and pushed it away. There was a silence in the cabin for a few minutes, each trying to find something to say to the other one._

_Sonic leaned back in his chair. This was going to be a difficult morning in more ways than one. Sally got up and removed her towel and started getting dressed. "You wouldn't happen to remember where it is, would you?" She asked. "Not exactly." Sonic said. "It wasn't too far out of town. I don't know how far, but you could see it from the road. I used to watch the cars pass by at night. And I don't know why, but I remember a windmill that sat in the front of the house. Seemed an odd thing to have there, but that place wasn't normal." Sally pulled a shirt she'd grabbed out of the closet on. _

"_Shouldn't be too hard to find." She said, pulling her pants on. Once she was dressed, they locked the cabin up, got in the car and drove down to the diner they had diner at last night. They ordered their food and while they were eating, Sally tried to jog his memory. "Do you remember what the house looked like?" Sally asked, taking a chunk out of her omelet._

"_A little. It was a two-story house and it had this dirty, dark brown coat of paint to it." Sonic paused and took a bite of the omelet in his plate. "That's about it. Don't worry. I'll know it when I see it." He said. It was weird how calm he was about all this. He had been almost silent coming up in the car, happy when they got to the cabin the other night, quiet that morning and now, he wasn't showing a hint of depression or sadness. If she didn't know better, he seemed perfectly fine; and that scared her a little. She didn't know how he was going to take being back at the same place again after so long and confronting it all over again. But whatever happened, she was going to be at his side, no matter what. Sally finished and they got up from the table, paid the bill and left._

_They got back into the car and Sally started it up, immediately turning the heater on to kill the cold in the car. Sally pulled out of the diner's parking lot and headed in the direction Sonic had told her. An hour later and they had come up empty. "It should be around here somewhere." Sonic said, looking around. Most of the houses they had passed were single story. Sally slowed down and took a sharp right curve. There was a giant rock jutting out from the side of the road, making it a blind curve and she slowed down and turned the wheel and rounded it slowly. Once they were past it and could see ahead, off in the distance sat a house. It was a two story which fit the description._

"_Look familiar?" Sally asked as soon as she noticed it. "I dunno." Sonic replied. Even though they were still far off, Sonic felt the familiar sense of dread well up in him and once they were close enough where Sonic could get a good look at it, he nodded his head. "Yeah." He said. "That's it."_


	24. Chapter 24: Tying Up Loose Ends

Chapter 24

Tying Up Loose Ends

Again, I don't think this one came out as good as it could have. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid again. I don't know. I really need to stop worrying about that... Anyway, could you leave me a review and let me know? Thanks and enjoy. Rated T for language.

He looked over at the house and there was no mistaking it, they had found it. Just off the left side of the porch, was the room he had been held captive in, the bars on the windows reminding him of that fact every day he stared out of them. Off to the far left, was the building that he saw from the window in his room. It was a storage shed for hay and grain for animals; three walls surrounded it with an open wall in the front. Sonic thought it was a strange thing to have in a place like that, since he had only seen a pig while he was held here.

The house itself had seen better days. It was dilapidated, but mostly in good shape. The tiles on the roof needed to be replaced in certain places and the paint was peeling, in large sections in certain places. In the window that had been his room, the glass was still cracked from where Amy had driven him back against it and he slammed his head into the glass and cracked it from their final encounter.

"This is it." Sonic said, looking around. It was eerie and he was waiting for Amy to pop out from a hidden spot and attack him and screaming her head off. Sally walked over to his side of the car. "This is it, huh?" She asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

They started walking slowly toward the front porch and Sally looked around, taking it in. _So this is where it all happened._ She thought as they walked to the porch. Sonic's heart was racing the closer they got to the porch and he was starting to get flustered.

Once they reached the porch and stepped up on it, Sonic's heart started pounding even more and he was shaking slightly. Sally looked at him out of the corner of her eye and it was obvious he was furiously concentrating, trying to keep control. "Take a couple of deep breaths." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sonic closed his eyes and he did as she told him and after taking a minute, he calmed down. "Feel better?" She asked. "Yeah." He said. "I gotta tell you, this is a weird feeling."

"Being back here?" She asked. "Not just that. I keep expecting her to jump from around a corner and come at me or something like that." He said. Standing on the porch of that house was the first step in getting over it. At least he hoped it would. He didn't want to try therapy again. That was a real drag. 'How does that make you feel?' That was a line used over and over again by every one of them. 'Good. Good. That's healthy. Let it out.' was another one that was used way too often. Hell, all they did was listen and at the end, you've diagnosed yourself and they're the one that's rich in the end. Anyone could be a psychiatrist it was so simple.

"Yeah. I get that too." Sally said. The house itself gave off a creepy, unsettling vibe. _"Just wait 'til we get inside." _Sonic said, under his breath. So far he hadn't freaked out or broken down crying like he thought he would. Up until now, he'd been taking everything pretty well, save for the last couple of minutes. At that point, he was happy he hadn't wet his pants or ran away screaming.

So, taking a deep breath, he walked over to the door and turned the lock. *Click* "Should've figured that." He said, taking his hand off the knob. "Guess you wouldn't've left a key around here would you?" Sonic asked no one in particular.

"What?" Sally said. "Oh- nothing. Just talking to the wind." He said. Sally looked around for the standard fake rock or for the tale-tale sign on a hide-a-key. "Maybe we could get through a window." She suggested. "No." Sonic said, shooting the idea down and shaking his head. "All the windows are locked shut and probably nailed down just to add a little extra crazy." He paused. "But maybe we could break one." He said and walked out into the front yard and began scanning the grass.

"You sure about this?" Sally asked. "I mean, what if someone sees us?" Sonic bend down and picked up a rock and tossed it back in the yard. "I don't think we have to worry about that." Sonic said. She looked around and didn't see another house around that was close and there hadn't been a single car pass by on the road. "Alright..." She trailed off.

Sonic looked for a couple of minutes, looking for the perfect rock. "No... nah." He'd mutter, then he found one and picked it up. Sonic grinned and held the rock just in front of the window and brought it down on the glass like a hammer. *Pssshhhhh!* The window shattered in a brilliant display of twinkling shards and fell in the grass below, leaving a large hole for them to crawl through. He cleared the rest of it out of the way with the rock and tossed it off in the grass. _That felt good._

Sonic put both hands on the windowsill and pulled himself up. "Be careful." Sally said. He had been working out every morning and was starting to get back in shape, but he was nowhere like he had been, but it wasn't that hard a task and he was inside the house in a few seconds. He turned around and he unlocked the window and slid it up so Sally didn't have to climb over the bits of glass that were left on the windowsill. "Thanks." She said as she brushed her shirt off. "No problem." Sonic said.

He turned around and saw the inside for the first time in over a year. It was surreal and smelled a little like dust. Everything still looked exactly the same as it did the last time he had broken out of his room. Everything. The phone that had no internal circuitry that he tried to call for help with the first time he escaped was sitting there. All the furniture, which was covered in plastic to protect it. The little porcelain figures, including the penguin that he accidentally knocked off the table which alerted Amy that he'd been out of his room. They were there too. "Wow." Sonic said quietly, taking everything in. It was like a time capsule of crazy.

He looked around the room and when he saw the desk against the wall that had the shrine to him, he walked over to it. Sally stayed right next to him. "What's this?" She asked, looking at the collection dedicated to him. "This was the 'shrine' she built for me." He said. Every single 'Misery' book he'd ever written was on it, from the first 'Misery' to the last one, 'Misery's Child', as well as a picture of Sonic.

"Huh." He huffed. 'Misery'. He hadn't thought of her in so long, he wasn't sure he could even write about her anymore. He wasn't even sure he could write, period. As Sonic looked along the desktop, something else caught his eye. The red photo album he looked through from his first escape. The one marked 'Precious Memories.'

"What's that?" Sally asked, putting the book she had pulled out on the desk. "Oh, this?" Sonic asked, holding it out to her. "Take a look." He said, handing it to Sally. She took it and began thumbing through it. She went from page to page, scanning some of the articles and reading a little from others. It started with the deaths of Amy's mother and father, her mother dying suddenly and her father dying from a car accident. Sally flipped through the book of newspaper clippings, all focused on Amy and her life. Graduating Valedictorian from high school and whatnot. Every accomplishment she achieved, no matter how trivial had been well documented inside.

As Sally read through it, she began to get a much clearer picture of Amy. Graduating from nursing school with top honors, being accepted to one of the largest hospitals in Mobius and assigned to the Nursing Department, then promoted to the head of the Nursing Department.

Then everything went downhill. Sally read the clippings about how infants were mysteriously dying just after Amy had been promoted to head of the Nursing department. Sally put two and two together and set the book down. "Wow." She said. She had the same shocked look on her face Sonic had the first time he'd read it.

"Yeah." He said. There was a moment of silence, then the sound of weeping broke that silence. It was Sally. She wasn't in a full blown crying jag; just a few tears falling and a couple of gentle sobs. "What is it?" Sonic asked, his voice quiet, concerned. He was surprised she was the first one of them to cry. "Just thinking of those babies." She said, her voice shaking slightly. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "I had the same reaction." Sonic said. Once she had stopped, which didn't take long, they continued deeper inside the house. They walked to the far side of the room and opened the door revealing the kitchen.

This room too, was left almost the same as the last time he'd stepped foot inside. But it was a small room and couldn't easily accommodate both of them and they walked out of it and into the hallway. To their right were a couple of rooms and a closet, and to their left, the staircase as well as his old room. Sonic saw the door to his old room and a chill ran down his spine. "Which way?" Sally asked.

"This way." Sonic said, pointing to his right. Down the hallway they walked, Sally taking everything in. The pictures on the wall, which caught Sally's attention, didn't have photos of family or friends. Instead, they still had the sample pictures that came with the frame. "That's weird." Sally said. "Hmm?" He turned around and saw her staring at one of the frames on the wall.

"Oh yeah. The pictures. Yeah, I thought it was weird the first time I saw it too, then I remembered she was crazy." He said. Sally shook her head and walked back down the hallway again. He checked out both rooms at the end of the hall, which were guest bedrooms as well as the closet. Sally noticed he checked the closet a little more thoroughly than the two rooms. "Looking for anything?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said. She walked over and looked inside the closet he was rooting around. It had shelves, all filled with empty cardboard boxes and plastic dispensers. On the floor were a few discarded blister packs that had been dropped after its contents had been removed. "This was where she kept all her medical stuff. This is where I got the pills that I tried to dump in her wine." He said. It was empty now, and Sonic walked out of the closet and shut the door.

"A closet full?" Sally asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Well, it wasn't all pills, y'know. She had other things; catheters, sponges, bandages. That sort of thing. I'm pretty sure she could've supplied a clinic with all the stuff she had." He said and they turned around and headed back the other way. They passed the kitchen and got to the back of the stairs and stopped. They were right next to the hidden door that led down into the basement. He was familiar with that and he looked at the door and started shaking, memories from long ago rushing back to him. Being dumped down there in the dark for days on end, the rats, the quiet, Buster. He felt the tears start to come and he spun around quickly.

"What is it?" Sally asked. She put a hand on his shoulder and he jerked away from her. The thought of Buster, standing at the top of the stairs, the sound of the gunshot and him falling to the bottom next to Sonic along with the memory of the dream he had that morning was too much for him to take and he finally broke down.

Sally embraced him and he wept for a minute, then the sobs slowed down and he took a few breaths and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Amy?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No. You remember when I told you about that sheriff that found me, and then she shot him?" Sonic asked. Sally thought back for a few seconds then nodded. "Yeah." She said. "This is where..." She trailed off. Sonic nodded and she felt the same feeling's he had felt.

Sonic turned around to the hidden door and took Sally's hand. "Sally?" He asked. "Yeah?"

"Would you say a prayer with me?" He asked. Neither of them had been really religious, but to him, it seemed to be the appropriate thing to do at the time. Neither knew what to say, so they both bowed their heads and said a silent prayer. Sonic said one for Buster and his family, and Sally said one as well.

They both finished a few seconds apart from one another and they looked at each other and both nodded and walked away slowly, both taking a last look at the door leading down to the basement. "Thanks." He said to Sally. She nodded and they walked away, both feeling sad, yet calm at the same time. Sonic pointed to the stairs and Sally nodded and they both walked to the bottom of the staircase and started climbing. Sonic looked around as the ascended, still nervous about being in the house. Yet, even though there had been tears shed, he had already conquered one of his demons.

With the exception of the prayer for the fallen sheriff a moment ago and the bouts of nausea and nervousness, he considered that so far, everything had gone smoothly. They made it to the top of the stairs and saw two doors. One of the doors was ajar slightly, revealing a bathroom and the other one was closed. "I take it that's her room?" Sally asked.

"Yeah." Sonic nodded. He remembered late at night, he could hear the TV she had in her room blaring and her laughing her head off at something that Sonic couldn't make out. Once, when he had been really good, she dragged the set down into his room and he got to watch TV for a little while. An hour was all she allowed, but it was the best hour he had the whole time he was there.

Now he had a chance to see into the lion's den and he wasn't about to let the opportunity pass him up. Sonic closed his eyes, laid a hand on the knob and gave it a turn. Sally held her breath as Sonic opened the door.

The windows in the room had been blacked out with sheets of wood or heavy paper, turning the room into a dark cave; there was a musty smell emanating from within as well. What they could see from the light spilling in from the doorway, which wasn't much, were a few clothes on the floor in front of the door. Sonic reached over for the light switch and flicked it on.

"Oh my God!" Sally yelled.

"Holy-!" Sonic yelped, jumping back to the doorway. The room was thrashed. Dirty clothes were scattered all over the floor and the bed and there was trash everywhere. Empty two liter soda bottles, with dried food smeared on the lip of every bottle. There were about seven in total and they were all on the floor by the head of the bed. The nightstand next to the bed had dirty, empty plates stacked eight and nine high and her sheets, which used to be white as the corners that were tucked under the mattress told, were now a dingy brown from the years of dirt and grime rubbing off from her body. "Jesus." Sally uttered as she took a step in but quickly withdrew it.

"I guess this explains why the rest of the house is spotless." Sonic said. "Must've spent all of her time up here." There was a path leading from the bed, to the door, up to a closet and ended at the dresser. He wanted to get out of there, but he wasn't about to let the only chance to see her 'inner sanctum' pass him up. Sonic reached down and opened one of the drawers on the nightstand. Inside were a pair of reading glasses, one of his books, various bottles of pills and a small wooden box. "Huh." Sonic muttered and reached in and picked it up.

Sally, now having a little time to adjust to the horror of the room, had walked in and began looking around, although she was cautious about what she touched. Sally was looking around the room and turned toward him when she heard him talking. "What'd'ya find?" She asked. Sonic reached in and picked up one of the bottles of pills. "Metroclomacin. Take one every six hours as needed for pain." He said, reading one of the labels. He picked up another one. "Plaxorum. Take one every day for anxiety." Another one said.

There were nine bottles in total. Some were for pain, others were psych meds, and others were just bottles with missing labels. He noticed something small and rectangular just behind one of the bottles of pills and pulled it out. It was a photo of him; not surprising considering she was his #1 fan, but that wasn't what shocked him. It was a picture of him, laying on his bed, passed out from pain meds, completely naked and spread eagle; his legs were only slightly apart since they couldn't be moved more than a few inches apart due to the broken bones. Sonic shuddered and quickly put the picture back in its place and when he did, it hit something that had been hidden in the very back of the drawer in the shadows. It rolled underneath the picture frame and when Sonic pulled the frame back to see what had rolled underneath it, he felt his stomach lurch and the contents of his stomach come up to his throat. It was a vibrator.

It was disturbing and his stomach knotted up, but Sonic just put the picture of him back inside, closed the drawer and walked back over to the door where Sally was and went out. _Oh, fuck me._ He wanted to throw up, but he managed to keep control, somehow. Sally turned the light off and shut the door behind her. "That explains a lot." Sonic said. "Were they full?" Sally asked. "I don't know." He said. That answered a major question he had about her. His best guess was that she had simply stopped taking her meds when she found him, which caused her mental illness to take control and drive her crazy. But that was his theory he had about her. No one would ever truly know why she had done the things she did, but that theory gave him a _little_ comfort in the fact it really hadn't been her, but her illness that drove her to do those things. That didn't excuse what she did by any means nor did he feel pity or sadness for her, but it explained a lot of things.

As they descended down the stairs, they stopped at the bottom and looked at the door to their right. "I guess the last stop is in here." Sonic said. Looking at the door brought back painful memories, but so far, everything had gone pretty smoothly. So, taking another deep breath, he grabbed the knob and opened the door.

The first thing he saw was the wheelchair sitting right next to the table where he had leapt out of it and tackled Amy. There were still traces off blood on the chair where the bullet from her gun had hit him in the shoulder. Sonic looked down and even though her body had been removed long ago, he could still see it in his mind's eye. This room was different from the rest for one major reason. On the floor, where her body had been was a faded chalk outline of Amy's slender frame and two plastic, yellow tabs on the ground, each labeled with a '1' and a '2' where the shell casings from the gun landed on the floor.

Sonic was surprised there hadn't been any sign's of a police investigation in other parts of the house, but he figured since they found most of the evidence in this room and no where else, it had been kept mostly to this room alone. "So this is where it happened?" Sally asked, finally getting the complete picture to the story Sonic had told her. "Yup." He said, looking around. Again, he looked around and found it wasn't bringing back any repressed memories or anything of the sort. He just felt... normal.

On the ground, next to the faint outline of Amy's body, was the typewriter he had cracked over her skull. Sonic turned around to the large, floor to ceiling cabinet that held more of her knick-knacks and he saw a picture of Amy; so far, the only picture of her in the entire house. He walked over to it and picked it up. She was standing in the yard of the house, next to someone that Sonic didn't recognize. _She always wore those brown dresses._

Sally stepped next to him and saw the picture he was holding. Being the first picture she saw in the entire house that had an actual picture instead of the sample photo surprised her. Sally looked at it for a minute and shook her head. _She did all that to him? She doesn't look like she could lift more than ten pounds, let alone him. _She thought. She set the picture back on the shelf and turned around.

Sonic turned around and walked back over where the table was set up. There were still a few sheets of blank paper still scattered on the table and he ran a hand across them. He looked down where her body had finally collapsed and he could still see faint traces of her blood still on the hardwood floor and he went through the events of the day and he realized it was over. It was one of the strangest moments he had ever experienced in his life and it didn't go exactly as he had planned. Instead of wanting to destroy the house, he felt, out of every emotion he had experienced so far, calm, yet confused. Why didn't he feel anger, hatred? Where was the bitterness he was supposed to feel?

He turned to Sally. "You know, it's funny." He said. "What's that?" She asked, walking over to him. "I don't feel angry at her. I don't know why. It's like... I don't know. I don't know why, but I actually feel _sorry_ for her." He looked up at the ceiling and laughed. "You know, that's just like her. Taking everything away from me. My dignity. Self-respect." The anger in Sonic's voice was starting to seep through; he was beginning to lose it. "Sonic..." She reached out to him to try to calm him down and keep him in control, but like he did earlier at the basement door, he pulled away from her, but this time it was in anger. "And why shouldn't she?" He demanded, motioning toward the spot on the floor were the faint outline of her body was still visible. "I mean, fuck! Do you _know_ the things she did to me?" He yelled. Sally was scared. He was starting to get angrier and she wanted to calm him down, but she didn't know if he would lash out at her or not.

"All the shit she broke above my head? There was an end table right here!" He pointed to the side of the bed. "I did something to _piss her off, _and she picked it up and slammed it against the wall, right above my fucking head! Pieces of wood're just pelting me in the head, then she throws the leg against the wall, and fucking has the sack to blame me for it! I'm surprised she didn't order me to clean it up."

He went over to the bed and stood by it. "She left me here for three days and nights with _nothing to eat or fucking drink_." He glared at the mattress, almost as if Amy was lying in it, then turned back to Sally. "Do you know I had to drink my own piss, just to get _something to drink!_?" He growled, flecks of spit flew out of his mouth. Sally had seen this side of him before, but it had only been in brief flashes. Now it was starting to pour out of him at a record pace.

"That was wonderful. Then the fucking cunt just walks through the door and pretends like nothing happened!" Sonic wheeled around and quickly walked over to the shelf with all the knick-knacks were and grabbed her picture. He stared at it, then out of the blue, hurled it against the window. It flew across the room, shattering on impact and taking out a pane of glass along with it. Sally let a scream out as the sound of glass shattering tore through the silence.

She was shaking uncontrollably now. "Sonic, calm down. Please. You're scaring me." She pleaded. For the first time in her life, she was scared of him. Sonic had reached that point where his anger had completely taken hold of him and he saw red. He didn't say a word to her, instead he stormed out of the room. His eyes were ablaze with anger and Sally broke down crying. Then, Sonic flew into the living room, slammed the door behind him and began to destroy it, grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down out of pure rage.

"Fuck you!" He yelled, grabbing whatever he could get his hands on and hurling it across the room. Sally listened as the sound of glass breaking and objects flew around in the next room. "Come on out! I know you're in here you fucking bitch!" Sonic yelled. "Come on!"; the sounds of glass and porcelain breaking, wood splintering, objects hitting the floor and walls could be heard coming from behind the living room door.

"Nnnnnngggghhhhh!" Sally heard him let out a guttural moan, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. She jumped and held up her hands out of pure reaction. *Sob sob* "WHY!" He moaned through loud, screaming pained sobs. "Why me? Why?" He demanded over and over. Sally heard the sound of something small hit the wall, then the sound of him falling to the floor, then sobs. Those deep sobs like he had done in Metropolis.

She waited several seconds and only when she was sure it was safe and wouldn't get pelted in the head from something he was throwing around, cautiously tiptoed into the living room. Sally saw the plastic that had been covering the couch had been taken off and thrown aside, and the cushions had been ripped in two, the stuffing scattered about and the couch itself flipped over. The tables that held all of Amy's little knick-knacks were now across the room. They hit the wall and fell to the ground, surrounded by bits of shattered porcelain and broken table. The gutted phone lie a few feet from one of the tables and the desk, which had to weigh at least sixty pounds, had been overturned, it's contents spilling out onto the floor. She was amazed how quickly he had destroyed everything in the room in such a short amount of time.

And in amongst the destruction was Sonic. After he had pushed the desk over in his fit of rage, he fell in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the chaos in the fetal position, crying. Up until a few minutes ago, Sally had wondered why he hadn't broken down or shown more emotion and now that question had been answered. Her best guess was that he was in shock from returning and it had all been building up to a head and had been released suddenly.

She carefully walked over where Sonic had fallen on the floor and knelt down beside him. She went to put a hand on him, but he jerked away from her. "Sonic?" She called out softly to him, battling her own tears and residual fear inside of her. He pulled his hands away from his face. He was sweating and his eyes were puffy from crying. Sally sat down next to him and held his hand, offering what support she could.

"Why?" He asked meekly, his now all too familiar sobs coming out of his mouth. "Why did she do those things to me? Why?" He asked. At that moment, he sounded like a lost child and seeing him like he was, she began crying along with him. "I don't know." She said. "I don't know."

It took a while, but Sonic finally managed to stop crying and he pulled himself off the floor. _Fuck._ He looked at her and said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that." He said, his voice still quiet. "It's ok." She said and gave him a soft smile. He looked at her, she looked at him and they embraced in a hug and, without saying a word, they stood up walked out of the room and over to the front door and unlocked it and walked back out to the car.

As they walked back out to the car, Sonic felt a very familiar feeling brewing inside of him. He let out a long sigh and they both climbed back in the car. She looked over at him and his gaze was locked on the house. His eyes were filled with anger and she shook her head and put the car in gear. As they drove off, Sonic rolled the window down and stuck his arm out of the window and flipped the house off as they drove away.

When Sally pulled up to the motel, it was clear he was depressed again and when she stopped the car, he opened the door and got out, walking over to the door to the cabin and waited for Sally to unlock it.

She sighed and climbed out of the car and walked over to the door and stuck the key in. She looked at him and smiled at him, but he did was lift his head long enough to give her a weak smile. "I'm gonna lie down for a while." He said flatly. Sally nodded. "Ok." She said. "I-is there anything I can get you?" She asked. He didn't say anything, instead he shook his head 'No', walked over to the bed and plopped down on it and closed his eyes. Sally gently closed the door behind her and sat down at the table.

An Hour Later:

"Hey." Sally said as Sonic sat up on the side of the bed. "Meh." Sonic mumbled as he sat up on the side of the bed. Depression had hold of him again and he looked like he had aged five years. He got up and walked over to the bathroom. "We should start packing." He said.

His voice was cold and he hadn't even bothered to look at her. "O-okay." She said. Sally turned around and grabbed one of the bags out of the bottom of the closet and set it on the bed and when she turned around, she saw Sonic standing in the doorway of the bathroom. "It's all your fault, you know." He said. The tone of his voice had gone from flat to cold.

"What?" Sally asked. "You. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ever had to come back here. Why couldn't you leave it alone!" He demanded. He took a step toward her and she backed up a step. "What the hell are you talking about? You're the one who decided to come up here. I said I'd go with you so you wouldn't have to go through with it alone, but I never _told_ you that you had to." She said. He took another step toward her. "No, no, no. You wanted me to. I was doing fine until I came back to you. I thought you'd help me, but I was wrong, wasn't I?" He demanded. Sonic's voice had begun to grow angry.

"I just said it might help you to deal with what happened if you could face what had happened. If you could face it head on, you might be able to move on. And where do you get off yelling at me for something that wasn't even my fault?" She demanded, taking a step toward him this time.

"Oh please. You never cared about me." Sonic took another step toward her. "You just wanted to hear how bad I had it. If you really cared about me like you fucking _claim_ you do, you never would've asked me about anything that I went through or even thought about asking me." Sonic yelled, taking another step. He was only a few feet away from her. "You never gave a shit about me, did you?" He growled.

Sally started to cry out of anger. "You know, I'm sorry that happened to you but that doesn't give you the right to yell at me and tell me that I never gave a shit about you! NO ONE, no one talks to me like that!" She screamed. She grabbed the bag of clothes she had set on the bed when he had gone into the bathroom. Luckily, they were hers. "So you know what?" She said.

"What?" Sonic demanded. "You can go fuck yourself!" She said, giving him the finger and spinning away from him and storming over to the door. Before she could reach her keys, she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder and spin her back around. He had that same look when they were in the house and he had lost control.

"You first!" Sonic yelled. Sally saw him cock his fist back. At that moment, everything went to slo-mo and she watched as his fist came flying toward her. His eyes were filled with anger and fire and his face told the same story. Sally tried to pull away from him, but Sonic had a good hold of her and all she could do was watch as his fist got closer and closer and she closed her eyes, clinched her teeth and awaited the blow.

"Sally?"

"Ngh!" Sally yelped and her head shot off the table. She looked around and saw Sonic standing over her, his hand on her shoulder and a look of worry on his face. "Wha..." She trailed off. A small trail of spit was dripping from the corner of her mouth and she wiped it with her sleeve. _It was just a dream._ She thought.

He sat down across from her. "You ok?"

She nodded and sat up in the chair. "Yeah." She said. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "I think so." She said. Sally noticed he didn't look depressed any longer. "How about you?" She asked.

He nodded. "Eh, more or less. Just being back there and everything, you know?" He said. Sally nodded. "But I feel better now. Just needed a nap." He said and smiled. Sally laughed. She was always surprised how quickly he had gotten over things like that. "What were you dream about?" He asked.

"I don't remember." She lied. "Was it bad?" She asked. "Well, I'm sleeping and I hear this moaning and mumbling and I wake up and see you in that chair, going on about something or other. It looked pretty bad so I thought I should wake you up." He said.

Sally nodded in agreement. "I guess so." She said.

"Well, I was thinking, there's really nothing left to do here. What do you think about heading home?" Sonic asked. Sally nodded. "You sure you don't want to stay another day? We could go back up there tomorrow and burn the house down?" She asked. Sonic laughed. "Sounds tempting, but I'd like to sleep in our own bed tonight." Sonic said. It was just after three and if they left within the hour, they could be home that night around nine at the latest. "Okay." Sally said. They stood up and she grabbed him and pulled him close. "Are you sure you're ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine now." He said, giving her his trademark grin. That calmed her fears about him. "Well, let's start packing then." She said.

Since most everything was still in the bags they had been packed in, it was only a matter of packing up what little was scattered around the room. That only took a few minutes to gather up and within ten minutes, they were packed up and ready to go. Sonic tossed the last bag into the trunk and Sally locked the cabin door behind her and they climbed into the car, she started it and drove up to the office, went in and paid for it and came back out. "Nice guy." She said. "Yeah. He's always been cool to me." Sonic said. Sally pulled out on the road and they headed home.

Six Hours Later:

Just like Sonic thought, they pulled into the driveway around nine that night. They were both tired but glad to be back home. Sally unlocked the door and walked inside while Sonic headed off to the bathroom. "Shouldn't've had that one-liter." He moaned as he slammed the bathroom door behind him.

Sally set her purse down and grabbed the mail off the desk that was next to the door, thanks to Tails picking it up for them. She pulled one out and set the others aside. "Hey Sonic?" She called out. He came out a few seconds later, zipping his pants up. "Yeah?" He asked.

She held the envelope up in front of him. "Royalty check." She said. They hadn't seen one in a long time. So far, they'd been living on what he had made before, which, thanks to the 'Misery' books, had been a pretty good amount.

Sally opened the check up and pulled it out. "$1200.00. Not bad." She said. "I'm surprised 'Misery's' still selling copies." Sonic said. When he had said the word 'Misery', it was the first time since the accident he said it without wanting to vomit. "I'll get it in the bank tomorrow." She said, putting the check in her purse.

"You want to find something else?" Sonic said, holding the remote out to Sally. "Nah. I'm pretty tired." She replied, pulling the blanket up over her a little more and adjusting her pillow. "K." Sonic said, pushing the power button and laying the remote on the nightstand on his side. After turning the light off, he rolled over and put his arm around Sally, as he always did every night.

"Good night." He said, giving her a small kiss on the back of the neck. She shuddered and giggled slightly at the affectionate offering. "Good night." She replied, reaching up and squeezing his hand.

"Sonic?" Sally said a few minutes later. "Yeah?" He replied without opening his eyes. "Do you remember when I asked you back in the cabin if you were ok?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sonic said.

"Did you mean it?"

"Of course I did." Sonic said. This time, he opened his eyes and sat up. "I know you're worried about me and everything, and I love you for that." He said. She turned her head up to him and sat up as well. In the faint light of the room, Sonic gently caressed her face. "But, I want you to know, I'm fine. And trust me, the second I start having problems, you'll be the first one I'm going to tell." He said, smiling.

"Promise?" She asked. "Promise." He said. They leaned in and kissed, and they both lay back down and Sonic snuggled up against her, wrapping an arm around her. Sally settled in and they both drifted off to sleep.

The Next Morning:

Sonic opened his eyes and rubbed them to clear the haze from them. He gently removed his arm from around Sally and being as careful as he could, he got up and went into the bathroom. As he stood at the toilet, he thought back to yesterday. Depression had once again paid a visit to him, but now, he felt completely normal; it was as if nothing had happened and yesterday had been just another day.

He finished up and pulled the waistband of his boxer's back into place and flushed, then went over to the sink and finished his morning routine. "Fresh." He said, washing his toothbrush off and sticking it back in the holder and walked out and back into the bedroom to get dressed. Sally was asleep so he put his clothes on, keeping the noise down as much as possible, then grabbed his shoes off the floor and carried them out of the room. _Don't want to sit on the bed and wake her up. Better do them out here. _He thought, sitting down at the table and setting them on the floor. It was just a little after eight, which meant his morning run would take place a couple of hours later than he liked. Normally, he'd be up at dawn and Knuckles would be waiting outside for him. But, having gotten back late last night, he had slept in.

Of course, Knuckles didn't know that they had returned yet, but that didn't mean Sonic was going to skip the run that morning. He finished putting the other shoe on and stood up, went over and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

'Sally, if you need me, I'm outback in the field getting my run in. Just whistle if you need me.'

Sonic stuck a piece of tape to the top and put it on the bathroom door so she'd see it when she walked out of the bedroom. Then he turned around and headed out the large sliding glass door.

"Oh, dammit!" He exclaimed as he stepped outside. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the brightness outside and he squinted until they had adjusted and once they did, he began his run. The path he took was straight from the back door for five minutes, then he would turn around and jog back to the house; repeat for thirty minutes.

Twenty minutes later, Sonic came back up to the house. Sally was already awake and eating a banana and sipping a cup of coffee on the couch when he walked inside. She turned her head when she heard the sliding glass door open and she smiled. "Morning." She said. "Have a good run?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Getting better." He said, slightly out of breath. Sally saw his note when she woke up and had watched him for a few minutes from the door earlier and she was impressed with his progress. "So when do you think you'll get back up to full speed?" She asked. Sonic took a few steps back and grabbed an orange off the counter. "I don't know really. I figure a couple more months, maybe. But I'm just guessing." He said, peeling the orange and laying the scraps on the counter. He bit into the flesh and it burst in his mouth, orange trails of liquid dripping down the corners of his mouth.

He finished it and grabbed the peelings off the counter and tossed them in the trash. "I'm gonna take a shower." He said, pulling off his t-shirt. Sally noticed he had gained back the weight he'd lost from the drugs; she also noticed how muscular he was getting again. Not much, just a slight build. Sonic had been lifting weights once a week, then once his body had adjusted to it, he'd increase it to three days a week, along with the rest of his routine, thanks to Knuckles, If there was one thing Knuckles excelled at, it was exercise. He was all power and his workout routines proved that.

"Okay." She said, eying him as he walked back to the bathroom. "Mmm." She muttered and turned back to the TV.


	25. Chapter 25: Happiness and Sorrow

. Chapter 25 (Rated T)

Happiness & Sorrow

Six Months Later

Sonic walked out of the Doctor's office, a big smile on his face. "So, what'd he say?" Sally asked. She had stopped going in with him four months ago since all his appointments had ended in the exact same fashion since. Sonic would be taken back to the room, the doctor would come in, talk to him and ask a few questions. Sonic would always give the exact same answers and once that was done, he would leave. But this time seemed different.

"Good news." Sonic began. "He said I don't have to take those pills anymore. I'm through the withdrawals." He said, grinning ear to ear. "Oh, Sonic!" Sally exclaimed, leaning over and giving him a big hug and a kiss. "That's great." She said, buckling her seatbelt up; Sonic did the same.

"Yeah. He was still surprised that I got through it so quickly. He told me, 'The progress you've made is extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it.' I'm surprised he didn't give me a medal or something." Sonic said.

*Eee* The breaks squeaked slightly as she pulled up to the light. "Well, it _is_ pretty amazing. Do you know anyone that heals quicker than you do?" Sally asked. "No." Sonic said. "Or anyone that can run like you do?" She asked him. Sonic shook his head no. "Okay then."

They pulled up to the house and went inside. "Think you can vacuum the floor in here real quick?" Sally asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Yeah." Sonic said, going over to the closet and grabbing the vacuum. "So, what time are they going to be here?" Sonic asked. "Around six I think." Sally said. The banging of glass clanking together came out of the kitchen as Sally began setting the dirty ones inside the dishwasher. Sonic bent down, grabbed the plug and stuck it in the wall and flipped the vacuum on and ran it over the floor. He was finished in less than a minute and once that was done, he wound the chord up and stuffed it back in the closet.

"Anything else?" Sonic asked, stepping up to the breakfast bar and leaning against it. "No. Not really." Sally said without bothering to turn around. "Cool. Just yell if you need me." He said. Sonic walked over to the doorway that led into the hall and quietly slipped into the bedroom and began rummaging in the nightstand next to his bed. "Dammit. Where is it?" He growled, pushing various things around.

"Geez!" He hissed, moving a bottle of cologne and a book out of the way. "There you are!" He exclaimed. He finally found hidden deep in the back and he pulled it out, stuffed it in his pocket and got up and walked out, flipping the light off behind him. The plan that night was to have a nice, quiet dinner with friends. But this particular gathering had special meaning. This time, it was to celebrate a couple of milestones. One, it had been six months since Sonic had come back as well as six months of sobriety under his belt.

It hadn't been easy. It had only been two weeks since he had been able to lay of the Methadone and his Doctor had given him the ok to stop. But the eight weeks leading up to that were terrible. His body was finally at the final step, which meant clearing out what junk remained in his system. His Doctor had warned him that most of the drugs remained in his system for a good stretch of time and it was time that his body would need to clean itself out. For eight weeks, on and off Sonic would have the withdrawals come and go at completely random times; unlike before when it was only for a few hours a day every other week; in a normal addict, that was reversed, the weeks and weeks of withdrawals would happen first, followed by the every other day cooling down period.

But that was over as was his ordeal with Amy. After he had returned to Silver Springs and revisited the house, it all seemed like a distant memory to him; everything had returned to normal for him. He could even look back on it and not want to puke or cry, which was a refreshing feeling. Sally was even happier for him than Sonic was. Now, she no longer worried about him. The vivid nightmares had all but stopped and he no longer woke up screaming or shaking from fear; breaking most of Amy's stuff had helped a lot too.

Sonic sat down on the couch and flipped the TV on. "Ngh." He muttered, rearranging the object he had hidden in his pocket, which was pressing down on his leg. "Hey Sonic?" Sally called out. "Yeah?" He replied, turning the volume on the TV down a notch. "Can you call them and see when they'll be here?" Sally asked. He could hear the sound of pans rattling around in the kitchen as she prepared that night's meal.

"Sure." Sonic said, setting the remote down and grabbing his phone.

*Beep* Sonic pressed the 'End' button and set the phone down. He had talked to Tails long enough that the battery had gotten hot from the phone being used so long that the plastic felt like it would burn his finger if he touched the casing too long and he was glad to get it out of his hand. _Kid sure can talk a long time._ Sonic thought. He got up and went into the kitchen and leaned against the breakfast bar. "Shadow should be here in about twenty and Tails said he and Knuckles were leaving right now." Sonic said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a soda out of the fridge. Lemon-lime. He wasn't a big fan of the darker sodas like cola or Root Beer, but he didn't have anything against them.

*Ding-Dong* "I'll get it." Sonic said, getting up off the couch and walking over to the door. He opened it; Tails and Knuckles were waiting and the walked in. "How ya' doing?" Tails asked, giving Sonic a big hug. "Pretty good." Sonic replied, hugging him back just as hard. They broke and Knuckles gave him one as well. "Looking good." Knuckles said. He always said that to Sonic whenever he saw him; commenting not only on his progress with his exercising, but how normal Sonic looked to him again. The image of Sonic lying in the hospital bed that night he had gotten the call from Sally had stuck in his head ever since.

"Hey, I try." Sonic said as he welcomed them in. "Come in." Sonic said. They walked in and headed over to the breakfast bar. "Hey Sally." Tails and Knuckles both said in unison. "Hey guys." She said, quickly looking up from the salad she was making. "Should be ready in a few minutes." She said, tossing a handful of fresh mushrooms in with the greenery.

Knuckles and Tails went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. "So what's new?" Tails asked. He didn't get around to see Sonic as much as he used to since he had found a girl of his own. From what Sonic had heard, her name was Cream and Tails was absolutely in love with her, even though they had only been going out for a couple of weeks.

"Got good news today." Sonic said. "I don't have to take those damn pills anymore. Doctor says I'm completely clean." He said. "That's great!" Tails exclaimed. "Good for you, man." Knuckles said, reaching over and patting Sonic on the shoulder.

"So, Tails. Why didn't you bring Cream with you? I kinda wanted to meet her." Sonic said. "She was busy with work. But she said she'd stop by if she got off early enough." Tails said. He was blushing a little.

Sonic saw that and had to take the opportunity to embarrass him a little more. "So have you two... you know?" Sonic asked, grinning and lightly elbowing him in the side. Sonic and Knuckles both saw his cheeks turn red through his fur and he turned his head away from the pair slightly. He didn't say anything, but he smiled and nodded.

_Bout time._ Sonic thought. "Nice." He said. Knuckles held his hand out for a high five, and after hesitating, Tails returned the gesture. "So how was it?" Knuckles asked, grinning. Tails seemed to blush even further and Sonic and Knuckles laughed. But after a few seconds, Tails held his hand up, his thumb up in the air and nodding.

"She did." He said coolly. Sonic's eyes widened and after a few seconds, Knuckles reached in for another high-five, which Tails returned. "Really?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Tails said.

"I am so proud of you right now." Sonic said. He looked like he was going to cry from pride but *Ding-Dong*, the sound of the doorbell ringing had Sonic getting up again. He went over to the door and opened it. "Hey, blue."

It was Shadow. Blue was what Shadow had started calling him for reasons Sonic couldn't figure out, but it was much better than having Shadow trying to kill him all the time. "Hey." Sonic said, waiving Shadow inside. "Hey Sally." Shadow called out.

"Hey Shadow." Sally replied, walking out of the kitchen. "You're just in time. It's ready." Sally said.

"Damn, that was good." Sonic said, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah. Just like always." Tails said. Shadow and Knuckles both nodded in agreement. "Thanks guys." She said. "Glad you enjoyed it."

Sonic sat up fully in his chair. Now that dinner was over and everyone was together in the same room, it was time. Everyone was talking amongst each other and laughing when Sonic cleared his throat. "Guys, can I have your attention?" He asked. He felt weird saying that for a room with only four other people in it; it just hit his ear wrong. They all stopped talking and turned to Sonic. "What is it?" Sally asked. "Yeah." Knuckles said.

Sonic stood up and grabbed his glass and held it up in front of him. "You all know it's no secret what happened to me and it's my seventh month of sobriety, and I just want to say, without all of you, I don't think I ever would've made it this far and I just want to say thank you. You are the best group of friends anyone could ever have." He said.

Everyone nodded in agreement, murmuring 'yeah' and 'no problem'. "Now that I've had time to look back on it, I realize I was a major ass and I just want to say I'm sorry. If I've ever done anything to hurt you, I'm sorry and if I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat."

They all nodded in agreement. "Hey, man, everyone makes mistakes." Knuckles said. "Don't worry about it." Shadow said.

Sonic smiled. "Thanks." His voice was a tad lower when he spoke that 'thanks.' "But there's one person in this room, and I can't stress this enough, you have all done more than your fare share for me and for that I am truly grateful. But," He looked at Sally, "and I mean you guys no disrespect, but that person has been there with me every night and given me so much more."

Knuckles, Tails and Shadow shook their heads no. "She's been there when I've woken up screaming in the middle of the night screaming, been there with me while I was throwing up and shaking from the withdrawals." He grew silent and shuddered slightly. "Been with me in my darkest hour." Sonic looked at the ground then back up.

Sally's eyes were glassy and the other three simply sat and listened as he poured his heart out to them. Shadow sat quietly, and Tails and Knuckles felt quite touched. "Now that you're all here, I have one request." He said. "What is it?" Knuckles asked. "Can you all close your eyes for a moment?" He asked. They all looked at each other, puzzled at his request, but they did and once there eyes were closed, they heard the sound of his chair moving across the linoleum and the sound of his footsteps as he walked around to the table, then silence as they stopped a few seconds later.

"C'mon." Sonic quietly grunted. "Okay. Go ahead and open them." He said. They did. The four looked around and saw him standing by Sally's side, his hand behind his back. Shadow was sitting next to where Sonic was standing and he tried to get a peek at what Sonic was holding. _Is he..._

"Sally," Sonic began and Sally watched as he got down on one knee, holding a small box that he cracked open. Inside was an engagement ring. When she saw the ring inside and grinned from ear to ear and her heart, along with the others, began beating faster and harder. "You've been with me for it all. I know I don't deserve you, but I have to ask, will you marry me?"

Knuckles and Shadow smiled and shot each other a look; Tails felt a wave of happiness wash over him, and Sally...

"Yes." She said, smiling and nodding enthusiastically. Tears of joy streamed down her face; a welcome change of pace. "Yes I will!" She said, and Sonic placed the ring on her finger and they stood up and embraced. The others clapped and cheered and they shared a kiss, then a hug which lasted for several seconds. They kissed one last time, and then Sonic and Sally sat back down. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

Later on, after the initial flood of joy had begun to die down, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles and Sonic stood out in the yard as they did whenever they got together. "Congratulations." Tails said, giving him a big hug. "Yeah. I was wondering if you were ever going to ask her." Knuckles said. Shadow simply nodded and grinned.

"Well, there were a few things that got in the way." Sonic said. "Anyway, I want to guys to know I appreciate everything you've done for me and if I disrespected you in anyway earlier, I'm sorry." He said. All three shook their heads no.

"You kidding?" Knuckles asked. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah. It's no big deal." Tails said. Sonic smiled, happy that they hadn't. They talked for a few more minutes, then Tails cleared his throat and glanced over at Knuckles. "I guess we should be going." He said. Knuckles nodded and they walked over to the car, Sonic and Shadow following close behind. Tails started his car and backed out of the driveway and Sonic and Shadow waived as the drove off into the distance. When they were gone, Shadow turned to Sonic.

"Guess I'll head out too." Shadow said.

"Alright." Sonic said. "See you later."

"Congratulations." Shadow said, giving Sonic a grin before speeding off into the darkness. Sonic laughed to himself and walked back inside. Sally was standing behind the couch, waiting for him to come back in. When he walked back in they embraced, and she kissed him, which he gladly returned.

"Did I ever tell you I love you?" She asked.

"You might've mentioned it a time or two." Sonic said. She giggled and, with a grin on her lips, kissed him again. "I do have a question." She said. "When the hell did you buy the ring?" She asked. "I don't remember you sneaking off when we were out or anything like that. Did Tails take you to get it?"

"That, my dear, is one secret I cannot reveal." He said. She lightly elbowed him in the side. "You're no fun." She laughed. "So when did you buy it?" She asked again.

"I told you, I can't tell you." He said, laughing.

Sally looked at the ring on her finger, glistening in the light. It wasn't anything extraordinary. A simple gold band, with a small emerald in the setting. He even had it engraved, which read, "To Sally, I would be nothing without you."

*Hee-hee* "Have you thought about a date yet?" She asked.

"It's May... How about October 18th?" He asked, shooting off the first thing that came into his head. "Our anniversary?" She asked, smiling. "As long as we can have it here." She said. The backyard would be perfect and it would save them a lot of money. "Of course we can." Sonic said, leaning in and giving her another kiss, which led to them making out on the couch for several minutes. When they broke, they just looked at each other and leapt up and went back to the bedroom; Sonic already had his pants off before the bedroom door shut.

A Few Weeks Later

"Let's go with that one." Sally said, pointing to a picture in the magazine. _Please God, kill me now._ Sonic thought. Even though they still had over five months left until their wedding date, Sally had completely thrown herself into planning the wedding, pouring over every bridal magazine and anything remotely wedding related. "Okay." Sonic said.

"You really want that color scheme?" Sally asked. _Each word more useless than the last._ It wasn't like she was obsessed with the wedding. She kept the planning under control to an extent and hadn't smothered him like most brides-to-be did, which he was grateful for. If it had been him, it would've taken less than a day. He had already picked out his tuxedo, a black jacket and slacks, red tie and white shirt. He wanted to get the hat that went with the suit, but he would've looked like a gangster and that wouldn't have went over so well with her.

"I'm sorry." Sonic said, leaning back in the chair. _Maybe I could get Cream to help me. _Sally thought. She looked at Sonic and saw he was pretty much off in his own world. She wanted him to be involved in the wedding as much as she was, but like most men, he didn't care for it too much. The most thought he'd put into it was his suit, which took him all of five minutes. And he looked nice in it.

"You can go." She said, trying to control her anger. She didn't want to force him to do what he didn't want to do; she wasn't like that. Sonic looked at her for a second before answering, making sure it wasn't some kind of trap. "Are you sure?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Besides, if you're not into it, God knows what you're gonna pick." Sonic stood up and went over to the living room couch and sat down. Sally decided to get some outside help and called Cream. A while later, there was a knock at the door. Cream was more than happy to help Sally with whatever she asked. In the few short weeks they had known each other, Sonic, Sally and Cream had a good friendship going; dating Tails helped them get to know each other rather quickly and was an excellent ice breaker. Sally and Cream sat down at the table and started gabbing away and pouring over magazine after magazine, Cream giving suggestions on what plates and silverware to; things like that.

After a few hours, they invited Cream to stay for dinner, but she declined and left. "Call me if you need me again." Cream said. Sally waived. "I'm sure I will." She said. Sally went back inside. "That was fun." She said. "Make any progress?" Sonic asked.

"Got some more of it done. She found these plates that I totally skipped over earlier." She said. The sound of dishes rattling around coming from the kitchen as she began filling the sink. _I'll do these tomorrow._

That night, when while they were laying in bed watching TV, Sally scooted a little closer to Sonic and gently kissed him on the neck. "Hey." She said in a soft, sultry voice. "Wanna... you know?" She asked, giggling like a schoolgirl. Sonic turned his head toward her and shook it no. "Sorry." He said. Sally pulled back, using her elbow to prop her up. "What's wrong?" She asked. He never declined to fool around in bed, but when he did, he usually had a good reason. "Just a little upset at my stomach. Can I take a rain check?" He asked.

"Sure." She said, reaching over and stroking his head. "I'm sorry, Sal. I'm just not in the mood tonight." He said. "Welcome to my world." She said. He let a small smile escape. "We have anything, like Rolaids© or something?" He let a long groan out.

Sally saw he was holding his stomach and she could tell he was in pain. "Sure. I think we have some Mylanta© or something lying around." Sally got up and went into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, she saw the blue bottle of antacid in the door and grabbed it and went back into the bedroom.

"Here you go." She said, handing the bottle to him. "Thanks." He said. He opened it and took a swig, then took another one for good measure. Sonic swallowed and a look of relief washed over him. "Thanks." He said, smiling.

She took the bottle back into the kitchen and climbed back into bed. "Feel better?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah." He scooted closer to Sally and wrapped an arm around her like he did every night. "Good night, Sal." He kissed her gently on the back of the neck. "Good night Sonic."

A Few Hours Later

"Sal?"

"Hmmm." Sally moaned, trying to ignore the voice calling out to her.

"Sal?"

"Wha..." Sally opened her eyes and looked at the clock. '1:18.' "Sal?" It was Sonic's voice that had woken her up. "What's wrong?" She asked, still half asleep. He hadn't woken her up like that since he had those nightmares, which worried her. She turned toward Sonic and when she saw him, she woke up quicker than she'd ever woken up before. He was sitting up on the bed, hunched over and clutching his chest; a grimace of pain on his face. Sonic was grabbing at his chest, almost as if he was trying to lift something heavy that wasn't there. She also noticed that he was sweating profusely and his eyes were closed and he was breathing was short and rapid. Sally turned toward him and grabbed him. "What's wrong?" She asked, feeling that familiar sense of panic returning to her the night she'd found him on the porch.

"I dunno..." He trailed off. He was out of breath after only two words. _Jesus._

"I woke up..." He stopped to try to catch his breath, which at the moment seemed an impossible task. "and I felt like... my che...chest was ca...caving in." Sonic moved his hand from his chest to his left arm and began rubbing it.

Sally got up and started getting dressed, grabbing her clothes and throwing them on in record time. "It hurts!" Sonic yelped.

"What? Your chest?" She asked. He nodded, unable to speak at the moment.

_Shit!" _Sally thought. The urge to cry was overwhelming, but she had bigger problems at the moment and she shook them off, forcing them to the back of her mind. "C'mon." She said, grabbing hold of him and dragging him to his feet. He was able to stand, but he was having a difficult time just keeping his balance. "Nngh!" Sonic yelped as another bolt of pain tore through his chest. "I don't..." He trailed off. "C'mon Sonic." Sally said.

Sally was determined and she got him to walk, although he had to walk slowly. He was soaking wet, _literally_ soaked with sweat, and his breathing was labored, which made walking difficult. Sally, somehow managed to get him outside and over to the car. It took a minute, but he was out at the car. Sally opened the passenger door and when Sonic saw that the door was open, he fell into the seat, banging his head against the roof of the car. He didn't care. He just wanted the pain to stop. Sally made sure he wasn't hanging out the door and she shut it quickly and ran back to the house and locked the door, then ran back over to the car and climbed in. She looked over at Sonic and saw that nothing had changed.

"You still with me?" She asked. Sonic nodded. _Stay with me._ She thought as she reached over and buckled him in. Sally turned the key and gunned the engine. When it turned over, she threw it in reverse and backed out of the driveway; she was clocking twenty when she hit the brakes to turn onto the road. "Sonic?" She said, calling out to him to make sure he was conscious.

"Nngh!" He moaned and she knew he was still awake. "Cold." He muttered. Sally threw the car into drive and punched the gas. "Hold on." She said. The car picked up speed quickly and within a few seconds, she was going well over 100. Sally reached down and flipped the heater on for him. _Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God._ She thought over and over again.

Sonic's body had went limp and his right arm was hanging off his left arm. "You still awake?"

Nothing.

"Sonic?" She said.

Nothing. Sally floored it and has she crossed the sign that marked the city limits, she was doing 118mph.

She pulled into the hospital parking lot, locking the brakes as she drove into the bay where the Ambulances dropped off their patients. She ran inside to the ER desk. Sally burst through the door and the nurse working behind the desk looked up. ER nurse saw the look on her face and knew something was wrong. "What is it, hon?" She asked.

"Heart attack, I think." Sally said.

ER nurse turned her head to her left and bellowed. "Code blue! Need a gurney to the front!" She yelled. A few seconds later, two men came out of a room pushing a gurney. Once Sally saw they were behind her, she ran out to the car, the nurse and two guys following close behind her.

ER nurse bent down beside the open door and quickly examined him. "Ok." She stood back up and the two men stepped forward, and pulled Sonic out of the car. He had passed out a few minutes before she pulled into the parking lot and she couldn't tell if he was breathing. "What happened?" ER nurse asked as they wheeled Sonic inside.

"He woke me up a little while ago and he said his chest was hurting and his arm was numb. He was sweating and he was having trouble breathing." Sally said. "Anything else?" ER nurse asked as they went into the area where the ER patients were examined. "He had an upset stomach earlier. I gave him some Mylanta© for it and that's about it." She said. There was a Doctor and a couple of nurses working on Sonic already. "Get a line in." The Doctor ordered.

"Who's his Doctor?" ER nurse asked. "Dr. Anderson." ER nurse nodded. "I'll let him know he's here. What's his name?"

"Sonic." Sally said. ER nurse nodded again and rushed to the front desk.

Meanwhile

"Got it." The nurse called out. "Good. Get a fluid drip started. Someone get the BP cuff on him." The Doctor ordered as he finished putting the tiny gel pads for the monitor on Sonic. One of the nurses grabbed the wire cluster and handed half of them to the Doctor and took the other half for herself and started hooking the gel pads to the connectors. "Get me a reading." The Doctor ordered and one of the other nurses scrambled to do so. She grabbed the cuff and wrapped it around his arm and began inflating it. "Pads are connected." The nurse said. "Central line is in."

"Turn it on." The Doctor said. The nurse on the other side of the bed reached up and turned the monitor on and it beeped steadily, getting itself ready. But it didn't start beeping along with Sonic's heart rate or displayed any numbers like it was supposed to. There was just the sound of a steady tone and flat lines on every readout.

"Get the paddles." The Doctor ordered. One of the nurses scrambled to get the defibrillator paddles and another one pulled out various objects and quickly laid them on the bed. Sally stood in a corner and watched them work like a carefully choreographed dance routine. The nurse that was grabbing various objects, including the large gel pads that the paddles set on when they discharged. The third nurse that was there on his left side grabbed a wooden tongue depressor and stuck it in Sonic's mouth and the other two finished setting up the defibrillator.

"Pads are down." One nurse called out. "Charge to 300." The Doctor ordered. Nurse 1 reached over and turned a dial, then flipped a switch. An eerie, high pitched whine began to fill the room and everyone, Sally included watched as the machine powered up, and when it was ready, it beeped three times in rapid succession.

"Ready." Nurse two called out and she placed the paddles directly over the large pads on his chest. "CLEAR!" She called out. Everyone moved away from the bed and she pressed the red buttons on the paddles and the defibrillator discharged into Sonic's body, causing his frame to jump off the bed several inches and fell back against the mattress when the charge had ran it's course.

The monitor above his bed flashed a brief set of numbers and the lines that measured his heart rate and other vitals spiked for a brief second, then went flat again. "Again." The Doctor ordered. Nurse two nodded and watched the defib's screen while it charged back up again. Nurse three, who was looking on from the side, looked up and finally, there was a reading; his BP.

"BP is 40/10." She said slowly, shaking her head. "It's charged." Nurse two called out. "CLEAR!" She yelled out and released the discharge into Sonic's body again. Nothing. Sally felt herself begin to lose control of her emotions and she started openly crying as she watched the man she loved fade away in front of her.

"Charge to 500!" The Doctor ordered. *Slam* "Whadd'ya got?"

It was Dr. Anderson. Sally jumped as he burst through the ER doors and over to Sonic's bed. The Doctor who had been working on Sonic from the beginning looked up. "Cardiac arrest. No response to defib. BP is 40/10." He told Dr. Anderson.

"What's the charge?" Dr. Anderson asked. "500." The nurse replied. "Go to 800." He said. "Doctor?" Nurse two said wearily. "Do it." He said again. Nurse two nodded and cranked it to 800 and he turned to the other nurse. "Get me 100 ccs of Adrenaline." He said. "Doctor?" She exclaimed. "Do it or we lose him!" He yelled. She stood there for a second trembling, then ran off to get what he wanted.

"Shock him." Dr. Anderson ordered. Nurse two nodded. "CLEAR!" She yelled and discharged again. Sonic's body rose and fell with the current, but the monitor beeped its steady tone. _Please don't leave me Sonic!_

"Charge again." Dr. Anderson said. The nurse that ran off to get the adrenaline came back and handed him a syringe pre-filled with the drug. Dr. Anderson ripped the plastic paper off and tossed it on the ground and uncapped it. "Where's his line?" He asked.

Nurse one pointed to it and he took a step toward it and plunged the needle into the rubber plug and emptied the syringe into it. "How long's he been down?" Dr. Anderson asked as he handed the needle to Nurse one. "About five minutes." Nurse two replied. _Dammit._

The defib machine's whine reached it's peak and it was ready. Nurse two leaned in and discharged again. *THUMP*

"Again." Dr. Anderson said.

*THUMP*

"Again."

*THUMP*

*beep, beep, beep* The monitor above his bed began beeping slowly and faintly as it picked up the faintest sign of a heartbeat and a few second's later, it began beeping steadily, but weakly. Sally watched as Sonic started breathing again. They were shallow breaths, but he _was_ breathing. _Thank you God._ Sally thought and cautiously walked over to the foot of his bed. "Good job people." Dr. Anderson said. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Sonic was out cold, but he was breathing.

He looked over and saw Sally standing there and he walked over to her. "Thank you." She said, teary-eyed. "No problem." Dr. Anderson said. "From what I can see, he's stable for now, but it's going to be touch and go for a while. I'll get him started on a drip and a couple of cardiac medications. Betapace and Melonax probably. Those should keep stable until we can find out what happened. So what caused you to bring him in?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"He woke me up around one, said he was having chest pain and trouble breathing. Uh... before that, around nine, I think, he said his stomach was upset and I gave him some Mylanta© for it. That's about it." Sally said.

"Was he doing anything that could've caused major stress? Sex, exercise? Anything like that?"

"No." Sally said. "It was a pretty normal day. I did kind of snap at him while we were planning the wedding, but that's about it." Sally gasped. "You don't think...?"

Dr. Anderson shook his head. "That you caused it?"

Sally nodded. "No. If that were the case, it would've happened right after that. No. I'm going to run some more tests, but until then, he needs rest." Dr. Anderson turned to one of the nurses who was just finishing up with him. "Nurse, can you order a heart cath ablation and a full blood work-up?"

"Right away." She said. He turned to the other Nurse that was still by his bedside. "Get an Ultrasound and start him on the Melonax and Betapace ASAP. Get a full work up on him."

"On it." She said, turning around and quickly walking away. Dr. Anderson looked up at the monitor, which was taking another reading of his blood pressure. Sally walked cautiously to the foot of his bed and leaned on the wood panel that ran across the entire length. She noticed that his skin looked pale, almost white; he looked so weak lying in the bed again. It was just like the first time, except this time she had a terrible feeling.

The monitor beeped and the results of his BP came on the screen, '70/50'. He turned around and walked over to Sally. *Huuuh* Dr. Anderson let out a long, worried sigh. One of the nurses came rushing back over to him. "Ultrasound can take a look at him in an hour." She said. He nodded. "Good. Get him started on Lystocern too." He said. She nodded again and ran off.

Now he turned his attention to Sally. "Is he going to be all right?" She asked again. Dr. Anderson lowered his head and cleared his throat. "We'll know more when we get those tests done. For now, we'll get him in a room and get those other tests done in the morning." He said.

One of the nurses was stringing a couple of IV bags on the hook above his bed and Sally walked over to his side, grabbing a folding chair that was leaning against the wall and set it by his bedside. She smiled weakly and held his hand. _He's cold._ She thought as she grabbed his hand; she reached out and touched the side of his face gently and pulled it back. She thought for a second she might actually break him. He looked so frail lying in the hospital bed again, but at least he was alive. The monitor above his bed beeped slowly as it kept track of his vital signs. They were all low, especially his heart rate. '40'

"Excuse me?" Sally asked the nurse who was fitting the last IV bag on the hook. "Yes?" She replied, looking over at Sally. "Do you know when he'll wake up?" Sally asked. The list of things she would give to have him awake was pretty massive; the list to have him at home was even longer. "I'm not sure. Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours." She said and went back to hanging the IV bag, and once that was hung, she left. She leaned over the side of the bed and kissed him, gently on the forehead. _"I'll be right back." _She whispered and got up. She walked out the ER doors and outside and pulled her cell phone out and started calling everyone.

Fifteen Minutes Later

Knuckles was the first through the door, followed by Shadow, Tails and Cream. Sally was talking to Dr. Anderson when they walked in. "We'll go ahead and get his blood drawn and get him up into a room." Dr. Anderson said. Sally nodded. "Okay. Thanks." She said. Dr. Anderson saw the others and recognizing them from the last time Sonic had been in the hospital, he gave them a nod. They returned it and focused their attention to Sally.

"What happened?" Tails asked. "Yeah." Shadow said. "Is he ok?"

Sally shook her head. "No." She said, her gaze locked on the ground. She couldn't look at any of them when she told them what she was about to tell them. If she did, she might burst into tears. "He... uh..." Her voice was slightly shaky and she took a quick breath to calm it. "Doctor's think he had a heart attack." She said.

"What?" Knuckles asked, unsure if he had actually heard her right. The others stared in stunned silence. "He's still in there." She said, pointing toward the room where the ER patients were examined. At the end of the hallway, Dr. Anderson walked out of the double metal doors, along with a man carrying a large basket filled with syringes, tubes and alcohol pads. He turned left through another set of doors and Dr. Anderson continued toward them. "Ms. Acorn?" He said as he approached the group. Sally managed to come to her senses and she turned toward the sound of his voice. "Yes?"

"They've drawn some of his blood and he also being taken up to a room. 28, 2nd floor. Give them about five minutes to get it ready and then you can head up." He said. Sally nodded. "How's he doing?" She asked.

"Right now, he still unconscious from the shocks we had to give him and his BP is still a little low, but other than that, he's doing fine. He should wake up within the hour. I'll see you again when his blood work comes back." He said. Sally nodded and he turned around and walked away.

They walked toward the waiting room and headed back to the far wall and sat down while they waited for Sonic to be taken up to his room. Sally leaned forward and held her head in her hands. Knuckles put a hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be ok. You know that, right?" He asked.

Sally nodded. "Yeah. But he's just been through so much. Why him?"

"You think something like this is gonna stop him?" Shadow said. "I've seen him go through a hell of a lot worse than this." He said.

"Yeah." Tails said. "He'll be fine."

Sally began to feel better and had started to calm down. "Thanks guys." Everyone nodded. "It's what we're here for." Tails said. "Think we should get up there?" She asked. It had been almost ten minutes since Dr. Anderson said they were going to take him up to a room and they agreed with her.

*Ding* The elevator doors opened and they stepped out, except for Tails who, thanks to his fear of elevators opted to take the stairs. The others stepped off the elevator and waited for the fox, who came out of the stairwell a few seconds later and they walked down to his room together. His room was down past the nurse's station at the end of the hall. In fact, it was just three doors down from the room he had been in the first time. As they got closer, they slowed up and quietly stepped inside and saw him lying on the gurney, dressed in one of those backless gowns.

The light above the bed was on, casting a pale, cream colored light on him. He was still unconscious and Sally noticed his skin was really pale. The nurse that was in the room with him was hanging the IV bag when she heard them come in. "Hello." She said. "Hello." Sally replied; the others nodding at her or giving her a wave.

The nurse quickly finished and excused herself and left them alone. Sally sat down in the big pink sleeper chair beside his bed, Tails and Cream took the other two chairs in the room and Shadow and Knuckles stepped out to find chairs of their own, leaving the other three alone. Sally smiled. Now that she could see him again. She had never felt fear like she had when she heard him flat line in the ER.

"He looks better." She said, holding his hand. There were multiple tubes running all around him this time. One for his IV, which was in his arm and another in his nose feeding him oxygen. "At least he's all right." Tails said. "Yeah." She said. "I just wish he didn't have to go through this." She said.

"I know the feeling. I'd give anything to change places with him." Tails said. There was a low hum as the BP cuff on Sonic's arm began to inflate. "But if I know him, he'll be fine." The monitor above his bed gave a BP rating of 80/71.

"I know he will." Sally said. "Anyway. Cream."

"Yes?" Cream asked.

"I was thinking about the wedding." Sally said. "Should..."

Tails thought it was a little strange that she suddenly changed the conversation to the wedding, but he thought about it for a second and realized that it was better than constantly thinking about Sonic. If she didn't, she might worry herself into a heart attack of her own.

"That might be good. It couldn't hurt to take a look at it, at least." Cream said.

"Did he ever pick his suit out yet?" Tails asked, joining in on the conversation. "I'd like to get an idea on what he wanted so I can get mine."

"He went with a black suit, red tie, white shirt, dress shoes and hat. I didn't like the hat at first, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I've got a picture at the house I can show you later on." She said.

_Sounds a little happier in here. Knuckles thought as he and Shadow came back carrying a couple of folding chairs. _They un-folded them and sat down. Sally laughed. "You two would look good in that." She said; the others nodded. "In what?" Shadow asked. "The suit Sonic picked out. Red and black. It's perfect for you Shadow." Sally said.

"It'd really fit you." Cream said. "Well it is my natural color." Shadow said.

"You guys still on for October?" Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. But I've been wanting to move it closer, you know? Just get it over with."

"Well, you two've been together for how long now? Five? Six years? You've practically been married the whole time." Tails said. Shadow nodded. "Seems like all you need to do to make it official is have the ceremony." *Knock-knock* Everyone looked up and saw Dr. Anderson poke his head inside the door. "Hello." He said as he walked in. Everyone gave the standard head nod.

"So, how is he?" Sally asked.

There was a moment of silence as Dr. Anderson seemed to struggle to find the proper words. "Can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Dr. Anderson asked Sally. No one liked the sound of that. Sally cleared her throat and locked eyes on him. "S... sure." She said, slowly getting up and following him out. They made a right and walked down the hallway a good ways away from Sonic's room. "Is it bad?" Sally asked.

Dr. Anderson nodded. "Yeah." *Whew* He let out a deep breath and opened the folder he always carried with him. Sally braced herself as best she could. Dr. Anderson's hands were shaking slightly as he flipped to the page that had the results of Sonic's blood work. "I'll be honest with you, it's not looking good."

Sally felt her stomach leap into her throat. "When we ran the blood tests, his potassium is way below normal levels. It should be above 80 and his is 14. His blood pressure is low too. Normally-"

"Cut to the chase." Sally said, cutting him off. She could tell it was a stall tactic, and if it was going to be bad, she wanted to hear it and get it out of the way; no matter how bad it was. Dr. Anderson nodded. "From what I've seen and after going over his results and eliminating every other possibility, I believe his heart is failing."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Rated T

_You can't have everything; Where would you put it?_ - Steven Wright

Sally wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. "Come again?" She asked. Dr. Anderson nodded. "I'm sorry. I'd like to do an Ultrasound to see how extensive the damage is."

"Wait." Sally shook her head. "You already did that once. Wouldn't something like this have been picked up the first time?" She asked.

"Well, yes. But it's not uncommon for complications like this to pop up farther on down the road. For all we know, he could've been born with this, it may have been the drug use. I don't know. But, by doing another Ultrasound, we'll be able to see how bad it is and if it's not too extensive, hopefully we can repair what damage has been done."

Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yesterday, they had been a normal couple, now he was in a hospital bed, fighting for his life. "How soon can they be done?" She asked. Dr. Anderson looked at his watch. "It's three right now. I'll put a call to Ultrasound and see if we can get someone up here to do it right now. But if not, he'll have to wait until six at least." Dr. Anderson closed the folder.

"So, just going by what you know right now," She stopped long enough to swallow the lump in her throat. "What're his chances?"

Dr. Anderson looked through the folder he was carrying. "Going by these numbers-"

"Sally!"

She turned around when she heard her name and she saw Knuckles poking his head out the door. "He's awake." Knuckles said and quickly drew his head back in the door; Sally and Dr. Anderson rushed back in the room. "Sonic!" Sally exclaimed as she rushed over to his bedside and sat back down in the big sleeper chair and took his hand. When she sat down, he smiled and squeezed her hand. "Hey." He said. His voice was quieter than it normally was and he was still weak after the defibrillator shocked him earlier, but he was awake. "What happened?" He asked, looking around.

Dr. Anderson stepped forward. "Good to see you're awake." He said. "How're you feeling?"

"Good, at least that pain's gone." Sonic said. "How long was I out?" Sally looked over at the clock on the wall. "About two hours." She said.

"So you're not in any pain now?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic shook his head no. "That's good." Dr. Anderson said, writing something down in the chart he always seemed to be carrying around. "So what happened?" He said looking at Sally. Dr. Anderson looked up from his chart. "You had a heart attack. Pretty massive from what we can tell." Dr. Anderson said.

Sonic's eyes glanced downward for a few seconds as his brain processed the information. "*Heh* Guess that explains all that pain I was having then." He said. He tried to shift around and get a little more comfortable, but he was still a little weak and only managed to squirm around. "So what'd we do from here?" Sonic asked. _He took that well._ Sally thought. "Right now, I'd like to schedule you for an Ultrasound; after an attack of that scale, we need to see how extensive the damage is, and if necessary, we'll do a heart cath again."

Sonic nodded. "Oh. Okay then. Better safe than sorry." Sonic said. Everyone was amazed how coolly he was taking it. Most people would've been freaking out about it or bawling their eyes out. But not him. Sonic took it, like everything else, with dignity. "When can we get it over with?" Sonic asked.

"The tech gets in at six, so we can start it around seven." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic nodded. "Cool." Dr. Anderson wrote down some more in the chart and closed it up. "Okay. Right now, I'm gonna get some more samples of your blood and start you on Lysomix and some fluids. Your last test said you were a little dehydrated. So I'll put in for the Ultrasound and get those samples from you."

"Thanks." Sonic and Sally said at the same time. Dr. Anderson nodded and gave the others a small wave and left.

"You had me scared you know." Sally scolded him. "Don't blame me. I'm not the one who decided to freak out." Sonic said, pointing at his chest.

Later That Morning

While Sonic was having the Ultrasound done, the others stepped out to get something to eat while it was being done. "So how long is this gonna take?" Sonic asked as Dr. Anderson laid the mattress flat. "Shouldn't be too long. About ten minutes." He said. The tech had already dragged the machine in the room and was setting it up. "Go ahead and take off your gown." Dr. Anderson said. Sonic complied and pulled it down to his waist and lay back down. Meanwhile, the tech had finished setting the machine up and it was ready. He grabbed the wand and put a generous amount of the gel that Sonic hated so much and reached over and plopped it down on Sonic's chest.

"Ngh!" Sonic grunted, expecting it to be cold. Instead, it was warm. And the tech that was operating the machine wasn't bearing down as hard as he could either. He was gentle with it, only pressing down when he needed to and even then, he wasn't rough with it.

"Hell, this is a lot better than the last guy that did it." Sonic said. The tech flipped a few switches and Sonic's heart finally showed up on the screen. Dr. Anderson watched it intently, monitoring it like a hawk and giving the tech occasional instructions. Sonic couldn't see the screen, but he could see Dr. Anderson's face, which gave him an idea of how it was going.

After watching the screen for a minute, Dr. Anderson turned to the tech and said, "go to the infrared." The tech complied and hit a switch, and then they went back to watching it. "Go to the side." Dr. Anderson said a minute later.

"Bring up sound." Dr. Anderson told him. The tech hit a few more buttons and a switch, and then the machine started making a whooshing noise. "What's that?" Sonic asked. Dr. Anderson looked over at him. "That's the sound of the blood being pumped through your heart." He said, then turned back to the screen.

Dr. Anderson and the tech watched the screen for a few more minutes, and then Sonic saw something that worried him. Dr. Anderson, who had an intense look on his face for the past few minutes now looked like someone who had been fighting a war and suddenly realized he'd lost. "Turn it off." Dr. Anderson said, his head shaking slightly. The tech nodded and handed Sonic a towel. Sonic wiped the excess gel off of his chest and he handed the towel back to the tech, who laid it on the machine and pushed it out the door.

Sonic didn't have to be a mind reader to know that Dr. Anderson had found something serious. "What is it?" Sonic asked.

Dr. Anderson took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "I'm gonna be honest with you. It's not looking good." He said. "Your heart is... shutting down." Dr. Anderson's voice was quiet.

Sonic was silent for a moment. _Did he just say..._ "Say that again?" Sonic asked.

"The Ultrasound showed that your heart suffered massive damage to the point that it can no longer keep beating on it's own."

"So I'm going to die?" Sonic asked blankly.

"I'm afraid so, yes." Dr. Anderson said. As Sonic took this new information in, he asked Dr. Anderson one final question. "How long do I have?"

"My best guess, three months, maybe four if you're lucky." He said. Sonic nodded slowly. Dr. Anderson watched in amazement as, unlike other patients whom he had given the same type of bad news to before, Sonic didn't break down or; lash out at him like a few of them had in the past. Sonic simply asked his questions and that was it. There was no showing of emotions. It didn't mean that Sonic didn't feel anything at all. He had seen patients whom he had told them they were dying, did exactly as Sonic did, then lose control or the opposite, accept it with dignity.

"And is there anything you can do to fix it?" Sonic asked. Dr. Anderson cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, no. Normally, we'd insert a pacemaker in you that would keep your heart beating in normal rhythm, or if that were to fail, a heart transplant. Unfortunately, the transplant wouldn't work since your heart isn't strong enough to survive the operation. The same applies for the pacemaker option. The best we can do at this point is give you medication to manage it."

"And how long would that give me?" Sonic asked.

"Another month at the most." Dr. Anderson said. _Hmm. Four, maybe five months..._ "I'm sorry that there's nothing-"

"It's ok." Sonic said, cutting off Dr. Anderson and giving him his trademark smile. "You did your best. That's all I could ever ask of you or anyone." Sonic said. "But I want you to do one thing for me." Sonic said.

"And that is?"

"This is just between you and me. I don't want Sally or any of the others to know about it." Sonic said. "If they have to know, I'll tell them."

Dr. Anderson nodded. "All right. If that's what you want, this'll be just between you and me." He said. "Okay. So what happens now?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I'd like to start you on Clornol. It'll take some of the workload off your heart and make it easier. And I'd like to get a blood test from you while you're taking it in here, just to be sure it's not going to affect your kidneys or cause blood clots, things like that." Dr. Anderson said.

Sonic nodded. "Sure." He said. "Okay. I'll start you on the Clornol today and if your system can handle it for a couple of days without any problems, I'll go ahead and sign your release." Dr. Anderson said. "Sounds good." Sonic said. He reached over and grabbed the water pitcher off the rollaway table and filled his drinking glass up and took a drink. "Any questions?" Dr. Anderson asked him.

"Not right now." Sonic said. "Okay. If you do, you know how to reach me." Dr. Anderson turned toward the door, Sonic thanked him and he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. When he was gone, Sonic leaned back against his pillow and went through the conversation in his head.

_So, I'm going to die?_

_I'm afraid so, yes._

Those words kept repeating in his head over and over again. He didn't want to believe it, God how he didn't want to believe it. But, he was the one who had put himself in the position he was in. He had no one to blame but himself. _If only you'd sucked it up instead of being a coward._ He thought. _You just couldn't ask for help, could you? No._ Sonic hated himself and as the reality of his situation began to sink in, he felt the all too familiar sting of tears begin to form, but just as he started to lose it, he heard the door opening.

"Well you shouldn't have eaten so much then." It was Sally. The others had come back up from the cafeteria. Sonic quickly gathered himself and quickly wiped that few tears away that had started to escape: luckily for him, no one noticed. As they walked in and sat back down, Sally took her place at his side.

"They already do the Ultrasound?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "What'd they find?" Tails asked as he unfolded one of the blue metal folding chairs and sat down. "Let me call him back in here. He can tell you better than I can." Sonic said, reaching over and grabbing the call button.

"Sonic, have you been crying?" Sally asked. His eyes had started to turn red and it was pretty noticeable. "No. You know when you yawn sometimes and you cry a little? That's what happened." He said. "Oh, I hate that." Cream said.

Sonic pushed the button. "Yes?" A voice asked. "Is Dr. Anderson available?" Sonic asked. "What room are you in?" The voice asked. "28." Sonic replied. "I'll let him know." The voice said.

A few minutes later, Dr. Anderson walked into the room. "Hi everyone." He said as the others greeted him. "So what did his Ultrasound say?" Sally asked. He hated lying to the families of his patient's, but if a patient was sane and able to make the decision, he had to do what they wanted, even it they refused life saving treatment.

"Well, we don't know what caused him to have the heart attack, but for now, everything looks clear." He said. Sally and the others breathed a sigh of relief. "So, just as a precaution, I'd like to start him on Clornol. It's a cardiac medication and keep him here for observation for a couple of days and if nothing further happens, I'll go ahead and sign his release." Dr. Anderson said.

That following day, everything seemed to return to normal. Dr. Anderson had kept his end of the bargain and told the others nothing about Sonic's true condition and Sonic did his best to keep them in the dark. The last thing he needed on top of everything was everyone else worrying about him and crying. He hated seeing them like that and he vowed to keep it to himself for as long as he could. He might not have been able to reverse the damage he caused by selfishly running away from his problems the first time, but he swore he wasn't gonna let it happen again.

Dr. Anderson came in that afternoon with the results of his blood test that they took after he had his first Clornol injection. "Well, so far, I haven't seen any problems with your kidneys; liver came back ok and no signs of blood clots. Have you noticed anything strange? Pain, numbness, chest pain? Anything like that?" Dr. Anderson asked him.

Sonic reached over to the rollaway table and grabbed the small pitcher of water and filled the glass up they gave him and downed it in a second. "Just been thirsty all day." He said. Dr. Anderson nodded and wrote it down in his chart. He looked over at the pitcher, which was a good two quarts and noticed it was empty. "How many of those have you drank today?"

"Hmm..." Sonic thought. "About four." He said. Dr. Anderson wrote that down too, then he put the chart back. Dr. Anderson knew that drinking that much water in a day is a warning sign that something was wrong, but Doctor/Patient confidentiality prevented him talking about it in front of her. "Okay. That's all I need for now. We'll continue the Clornol tomorrow and if everything still comes out ok, I'll go ahead and sign his release orders Friday." Sonic and Sally both thanked him and he left the room.

Later That Night

"Shit!" Sonic exclaimed as he opened his eyes. Sally was sleeping in the sleeper next to his bed, but she had just started to nod off when Sonic's sudden outburst shook her back awake. "What is it?" She asked, sitting up. Sonic frantically patted around the bed for the call button. He was breathing heavily and she could see the fear on his face. She saw it and pushed the button quickly. "Can I help you?" The voice asked. "Can... can't..." He tried to speak, but he couldn't catch his breath.

"He can't breathe." Sally said. "He needs help!"

"Hang on." The voice said. A minute later, a nurse walked in the room. "What's wrong?" She asked, then she saw Sonic. "How long have you been having trouble?" She asked, walking to the side of his bed. Sonic shook his head. "Don't know... woke up... woke up..."

"You woke up like this?" She asked. She reached over and pushed the button on the wall. "Send Dr. Anderson to 28." She said, then released the button. Sonic nodded.

There wasn't much anyone could do until Dr. Anderson walked into the room, which he did a minute later. He walked over to the side of the bed the nurse was standing on. "How long have you been having shortness of breath?" Dr. Anderson asked. "He said he woke up having it." The nurse replied for him. Dr. Anderson took of his stethoscope and placed it on Sonic's chest. He raised an eye and quickly pulled it away. Then he pulled the sheet Sonic had over his legs and pressed on his shin. When he took his finger away, there was an indentation left in the skin. _Oh, dammit. Not this. _(The following is taken from personal experience.)

Dr. Anderson slung the stethoscope over his neck and looked over at Sally. "I don't want to alarm you, but there's a massive amount of fluid on his lungs."

"What?" Sally asked. "How the hell-"

"I'll explain in a minute." He turned to the nurse. "Go down and get 50cc's of Furosemide and 10cc's of potassium." He said. The nurse nodded and ran off. "Is he going to be all right?" Sally asked.

Dr. Anderson once again had to put his skills of deception to the test. "He's going to be fine. After a heart attack, some patients generally have a backup of fluid on their lungs. It's highly uncommon for it to happen, but it does happen." "Why didn't you tell us about this before?" Sally demanded. "There's no test to screen for it or else we could've been prepared for something like this." Dr. Anderson said. Sally nodded and turned her attention back to Sonic. When he got to speak to him alone, he'd tell him what was really going on.

"Here you go." The nurse came back into the room, carrying two syringes in her hand. Dr. Anderson laid them both on the bed and uncapped one. "This is the Furosemide." He said, sticking the needle into the rubber porthole on Sonic's IV and slowly injecting it. "It's a diuretic, which means it's going to clear out all that fluid very quickly." Dr. Anderson finished the injection, then grabbed the second needle.

"And this is just a potassium shot, to replace what potassium is lost when the Furosemide starts to work." He finished both injections, capped the needles and handed them to the nurse, who tossed them in the biohazard container on the wall. "Can you get a couple urinals as well?" He asked the nurse. She nodded and went to go get those as well.

"So how long until it starts working?" Sally asked. Sonic nodded. He felt like everything inside his chest was floating.

"About five minutes, but it may happen quicker with what's built up inside him." Dr. Anderson said. The nurse came back carrying two plastic urinals and set them on the rollaway table. They resembled square pitchers, with the top portion bent at a 45° angle and a handle jutting out of the side.

Dr. Anderson thanked her and excused her. "And this'll flush everything out?" Sally asked. Dr. Anderson nodded.

Suddenly, Sonic's breathing began to return to normal and he took a smooth, easy breath and smiled. "You have no idea how good that feels." He said. "That means the fluid is off your lungs, then." He said. Then, suddenly, he sat up. "What's wrong?" Sally asked. "Feels like someone's squeezing my chest." Sonic said through clenched teeth.

"It's ok. That's just the fluid that's built up being flushed from around your lungs." Dr. Anderson said. The squeezing got more and more intense with every passing second, but the only thing Sonic could do was endure it. Then to his surprise, he actually felt everything get flushed down toward the exit and he grabbed one of the urinals off the table. Dr. Anderson knew what was going to happen next and he turned around and drew the privacy curtain.

Sally watched as Sonic opened the urinal, threw the blankets and his gown back, pulled his penis out and proceeded to fill the plastic jug the second he had clearance. Sally watched in amazement as Sonic kept going and going. Since he was sitting up in the bed, the urinal was almost flat and he had to stand up to keep it from spilling out onto the bed. "Is that normal?" Sally asked Dr. Anderson. He simply nodded and waited for Sonic to finish.

Sonic finally stopped and capped the urinal, which could hold a liter of urine, was almost full. To her amazement, he set the full one on the table and grabbed the empty one and kept going. Sally sat aghast as he started to fill up the other one. He only managed to fill that one 3/4 full and set it on the table. "Done?" Dr. Anderson asked. "Yeah." Sonic said, getting back into bed. Dr. Anderson turned around and slipped a pair of gloves on and took the urinals into the bathroom, dumped them and washed them out.

"Feel better?" Dr. Anderson asked as he hung the empty urinals on the bed's railing. "Oh, yeah." Sonic said, nodding slowly. "I didn't know someone could hold that much in them." He said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Now that that's over, it shouldn't be a problem anymore." Dr. Anderson said. He asked Sonic a couple more questions, then excused himself out of the room.

"That was scary." Sonic said. "The breathing?" Sally asked. "No. I didn't know someone could pee that much. Now I know what an orange feels like when you squeeze the juice out of it."

"Well, that's over. At least you won't have to go through that again." She said.

*knock knock* Dr. Anderson came back into the room. "Sally, we need you to go down and sign a few papers." He said. "For what?" She asked. "Whenever we give a patient medication like that, we need something that said we were given consent to do it. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Dr. Anderson said.

She nodded and got up and walked out. When she walked out of the room, he quickly walked over to the side of Sonic's bed. "I only have a minute to tell you this, so listen. That wasn't a one-time thing." Dr. Anderson said. "Because your heart isn't working at full capacity, fluid is going to keep backing up on your lungs because it can't keep pumping everything out like it used to." "Any questions?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Can I still exercise?" Sonic asked. "Yes, but take it easy. No marathons or anything like that. Running is out, but lifting weights, _light_ cardio. That you can do. Just take it easy and if you have pain or something like that, then stop and take a break."

Sonic nodded. "What about sex?" He asked.

"Well, sex does put some strain on your heart, so before you have a go of it, try masturbating a few times. Masturbating is a good way to see if your heart can handle the stress. If after four or five times you don't have any chest pain or shortness of breath, then you should be ok. And try to be on the bottom. That way your heart had to work less."

Sonic nodded again. That's good. He thought. "Let's see." Dr. Anderson continued. "Try to cut down on how much fat you eat. Uh... do you drink?" He asked Sonic.

"Not really." Sonic said. "Good. Alcohol isn't good for your heart. Drink water, no caffeine, and no salt. Do you drink sodas?" Sonic nodded. "If you drink any, make sure their clear." Dr. Anderson jotted down a few more things in Sonic's chart, then closed it up. "Anymore questions?" Dr. Anderson asked. Sonic thought for a few seconds. "No." Sonic said.

"So is it going to kill me or what?" Sonic asked. "No, no. Nothing like that. I'm going to prescribe some Furosemide for you before you leave. Only take it if you're having trouble breathing or your legs start to swell. Other than that, it shouldn't be a problem anymore. I'll have this on your discharge papers before you leave, but from now on, take it easy on how much you drink."

Sonic nodded. "Got it."

When Sally came back to the room, Dr. Anderson had already left. "You'd think they'd have what I needed to sign when I got there." She said, sitting down.

The next few days passed without incident and since Sonic's blood work had come back clean, Dr. Anderson decided to sign his release papers. When Sally went down to pull the car around to the front, Dr. Anderson came in to see him out along with a nurse pushing a wheelchair. "Well, Doc, it's been fun." Sonic said, extending his hand.

Dr. Anderson shook it. "I wish I could say the same. Just take it easy and you should be fine." Sonic nodded and he sat down in the chair and she took him out of the room and down to the elevators. Dr. Anderson watched as Sonic got on the elevators and as the doors slowly closed, Dr. Anderson chuckled. _For someone who's going through what he's going through, he's taking it pretty well._

As they drove back home that afternoon, Sonic asked Sally if she could pull into a store so he could get a few things for himself. She agreed and found one just outside of town. He had been reviewing his discharge orders. Since Sonic had requested that his true illness be kept between them, Dr. Anderson had written two different versions, one for his eyes which he had already stuck in his pocket and one for Sally. They both had the same things written on them, but her copy had a few details removed, such as his true diagnosis and things like that. But Dr. Anderson had written down what his new diet would be on both of them so she wouldn't become suspicious, which he was reading over again. Little or no salt, limit his caffeine, sodas and liquids in general; he also had to keep up with his exercising, something he had no problem with.

He also had to monitor most of what he ate. That meant cut down on fat and load up on veggies. Translation: No more ChiliDogs. As he stuck the paper back in the folder, he had a mission on his hands. _If I'm gonna have to start watching what I eat, then I'm gonna have one hell of a last hoorah._ He thought. Sally parked the car and shut the engine off. Luckily, she had his wallet in her purse and he took it out. "You sure you want to do this? I mean, he did say you're supposed to stop eating all that stuff." She said.

"I know. But I just want to have it as a last meal of sorts. One final hoorah before I can't have that stuff anymore, you know?"

She smiled and nodded. "I guess I can do that. For you." He would've gone inside, but he was still in the hospital gown and jeans, so Sally elected to go in for him. "How much should I get?" She asked, knowing they wouldn't be eating alone that night. "I don't know. Enough for three for everyone I guess." He said. She had a puzzled look on her face. "Three? Are you sure you're feeling ok?" She asked. Normally, he could put five of them away easy, but that was before. "Doctor said I have to watch what I eat, remember?" He said. She nodded and shut the door and walked into the store. She came out ten minutes later, with three bags full of stuff.

On the drive home, Sonic made the call to the others and invited them over. It was a kind of 'second' homecoming'; everyone agreed and he told them to be there around seven. They pulled up to the house and after Sonic had helped her unload everything, he went into the bedroom and took off the hospital gown he had been wearing and threw it on the ground. _God, I hope I never have to see one of those again._ He thought as he grabbed a shirt out of the closet, new pair of boxers and a pair of pants. He completely stripped down, grabbed the dirty clothes he had been wearing in one hand and his change of clothes in the other and headed for the shower. He needed one after spending that long in that hospital room.

Since he had been a cardiac patient, he had to stay hooked up to a monitor the entire time and couldn't be unhooked from it, even for a few minutes so he could shower. "Sally?" He called out from the bedroom door.

She was already in the kitchen putting the groceries away. "Yeah?" She answered back. "I'm gonna hop in the shower." He said. "K'." She replied. Sonic walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Flipping on the light, he threw the dirty clothes he'd been carrying into the hamper, and laid the clean ones on the bathroom counter. When he saw his reflection in the mirror, he noticed that the spots on his body where the electrodes for the monitor hooked up on him, there were little rings of dirt and lint where they had been placed on him.

He touched one and it still had a little stickiness to it and he sighed. _Every time._ He thought as he walked over to the shower and turned it on. He stepped inside and began to rinse off, which felt glorious. The dirt rings left by the electrodes proved more than a little stubborn, but he managed to get them off with a little scrubbing.

When he stepped out, he felt like a new man. He toweled off, dressed and walked back into the kitchen where Sally was already getting dinner ready. "Starting already?" He asked. "It's only five." He said.

"I know." She said, turning around. "I want to get it done and out of the way when they get here so I'm not stuck in here like I was last time." She said. Sonic sat down at the breakfast bar and opened the bag with his medications in it. There were five bottles: Furosemide and the potassium supplement for his fluid build up, Clornol and Betapace for his heart, and the Melonax for any sudden chest pain.

Again, Sonic was the only one who knew what they were really for. Sally had read the 'fake' discharge papers and assumed they were supplements and vitamins; the real names of his medications were written on his real papers, along with the names of the vitamins they had been labeled with so he wouldn't get confused. Sonic also asked Dr. Anderson if he could change the names of the meds on the bottles just in case she got suspicious and decided to research them. (I don't think Doctors can actually do that, but oh well.) He had to take the Clornol and Betapace once a day, so he decided to get started on it. He opened the bottles and took one of each and swallowed them down with a glassful of water. "How many of those did he tell you to take?" She asked, picking up one of the bottles off the counter.

"Two of them once a day." He said, sticking them back in the bag. The other three he'd have to hide from her. The irony wasn't lost on him that he was forced to hide pills from her once again, but this time, it was for a different reason. Sonic took the Furosemide, potassium and Melonax and stuck them in the drawer of the nightstand next to his side of the bed in case he needed them. _Damn childproof caps. _Sonic thought as he struggled to open the bottle of Melonax. Sonic took one of the pills out, which was the size of a pencil eraser and stuck it in his pocket.

_Just in case._ He thought, closing the drawer and going back to the front of the house. He sat down on the couch and flipped the TV on. He laid a hand on his pants and he felt the outline of the Melonax tablet underneath the fabric. He hoped he wouldn't ever need it.

Two Months Later

"That sounds good." Sally said as she, Sonic and Cream sat around the table. They were back to the process of planning the wedding and were just finishing up the final details. By now, everything had returned to normal, or Sonic's new normal. He had gotten used to taking pills every day and had even become used to taking the Furosemide when he had the swelling in his legs. It wasn't as bad as when they gave him the shot of it in the hospital and everything was flushed out in five minutes. In the pill form, the excess fluid was drained over the course of a few hours, which was much more manageable. Also, he had been fortunate in the fact he hadn't had any serious bouts of chest pain. There had been some, but luckily for him, it hadn't been severe enough to warrant taking one of the Melonax tablets. It came and went quickly and had been light so far. But he always carried one with him, just in case.

The wedding plans had been coming along nicely. Sally and Sonic had already made all the major decisions. Her dress, the food, color schemes. The major details had been decided along with some of the minor ones and now all that was left were a few final minor details. It was the middle of July and the wedding was now only three months away.

"Let's do it around five. The sun should be down by then and it'll be nice and cool by then. No one'll have to sit in the heat." Sally said. Cream nodded and wrote it down in the notepad she used. "Okay. Now the last part is music and vows." Cream said.

Sonic and Sally looked at each other. "Anything in particular you want?" Sonic asked Sally. She leaned back in her chair and thought it over. Out of the many things they had in common with each other, music was one of them. Whatever she said, he'd be comfortable with and vice versa.

Sally began listing songs and after a minute, she had a good size list built up. Sonic looked it over and nodded. "I have one request." He said. Cream and Sally looked at him. "And that is?" Sally asked.

"Faithfully by Journey©™" (If you haven't heard that song, go and listen to it even if Journey's not your thing. I believe it ties in pretty close with Sonic's feelings for her.) Sally nodded in agreement and Cream wrote it down. "And I guess we could do our own vows." Sally said. Cream wrote that down, then closed the notebook up. "And we are finished." She said, sticking it in her purse. "I believe that's a new record for planning a wedding." Cream said. "It helps when you know what you want." Sally said. They all talked for a few more minutes, then Cream left.

Later That Night:

Sonic sat up on the side of the bed, breathing heavily, heart racing and covered in sweat. _Fuck!_ He yelled out in his head as he quickly reached into the drawer in his nightstand and grabbed the bottle of Melonax and quickly popping one of the pills in his mouth. He chewed it up and quickly swallowed it, ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth. He put the bottle back in the drawer and waited for it to take effect. _Come on! _He thought. If the pain didn't subside in five minutes, Dr. Anderson had told him to go into the hospital and they would be able to give him something stronger for it. Fortunately, that didn't happen this time. The pain began to subside and Sonic felt a tremendous relief begin to lift of his shoulders.

_God I hate those things. _He thought as he got up to get a glass of water to wash the bitterness out of his mouth. His heart had begun to slow down, but he was still sweating so he decided to jump in the shower and rinse off. As he washed the sweat off of his body, he began to realize that things were getting worse. The pain had started happening more and more frequently. Going from every once in a while with very little pain, to sudden outbursts at night. Luckily, Sally had either been gone or asleep when they hit and so far she was still clueless to the truth.

Sonic stepped out and dried off and he started to go back into the bedroom, but he knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep so he went into the kitchen and grabbed a soda and sat down on the couch and flicked the TV on. He always did the same thing every time he had pain that woke him up at night. Get up; watch TV then go back to bed when he felt tired.

He turned on the set and cracked his soda open and went through the channels, but finding nothing on, he settled on SportsHub, one of those channels that ran sports highlights and scores 24 hours a day. He set the remote down on the coffee table and saw Sally had left her notes about the wedding out. Sonic picked it up and flipped through it. It was pretty detailed. Every decision she made, even the one's she had decided not to go with were still written down. _She's really looking forward to it._ He thought as he went through it. It even had the other ideas for the suit Sonic was going to wear. Suddenly, he closed it up and wiped a few tears away and tossed it back down on the table. Every time he woke up with chest pain it reminded him of his condition. But this time, seeing that notepad with her ideas about the wedding made this night extra painful. Seeing that, he realized that he might not be around for they're wedding.

He had been out of the hospital two months and by Dr. Anderson's calculations, he had another month left. _Why the hell does the wedding have to be in October?_ He asked himself. It was July. Even _with_ the extra month, there wasn't any way he was going to see October. "Sonic?"

Sonic turned his head and saw Sally standing just inside the dining room and she started walking over to the couch. "What's wrong?" She asked, sitting down next to him.

"Woke up sweating. Had to jump in the shower." He said. She nodded. "It is a little warm. I thought you were having another nightmare." She said.

"I don't think there're coming back ever again." He said. He reached down and picked up her notebook. "I noticed you left this out again." He said. She smiled and took it. "After you went to bed, I was going through it, seeing if there was anything I wanted to change."

"I am glad you didn't make me change my suit." Sonic said. "I thought about it a little more, but you do look good in red." She said. "I just wish it wasn't so far away."

"What's stopping us?" He asked. Sally looked at him, a confused look on her face. "What're you talking about?" She asked.

"I love you. I know you wanted to wait until October, but I don't know if I can wait that long. What do you say to moving it up?" Sonic asked. _Please say yes._ Then he reached over and took her hand.

Sally turned away from him and didn't say a thing. _Oh God, why didn't I keep my mouth shut?_ He asked himself. Like all men, sometimes he had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but this time he had a good reason behind it.

Then, slowly, she turned back toward him, a smile growing larger as her eyes came into contact with his. "Okay." She said, laughing and crying at the same time. This time though, they were tears of joy, which suited her better. "Let's do it." She said.

When she agreed, another huge weight lifted off Sonic's shoulders. Until now, he wasn't sure if he was going to live long enough to see the wedding. Now, God and his body willing, he was going to see it. He had wanted to ask her to marry him for a long time, even before his life had taken that wrong turn a year ago. Now he was going to see it come true. *Heh* "So when did you want to have it?" She asked. He hadn't even thought that far ahead. He hadn't even expected her to say yes; he was just happy she wasn't mad at him. Sally had been looking forward to their anniversary as the wedding date, but when she said yes, he realized she had been looking forward to it as much as he was.

Now that she had agreed to move it up, he thought about if for a minute. "How about next week?" He blurted out. "Next week?" Sally asked. "Is that gonna be enough time?" She wondered. "I don't think it's even possible to pull a wedding together that quickly. I mean, it took a good three months just to plan it." Sally argued.

Sonic figured she would start to freak out. "We'll just call Cream up in the morning and see what she can do and we'll go from there. She's done a great job so far and if she can't get everything together, we'll work from there." Sonic said.

Sally nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak out on you like that." She said. Sonic leaned in and kissed her. "It's okay. I'd probably be doing the same thing if I were in your shoes." He said. They both stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds then started making out. A minute later, they got up off the couch and quickly made their way back to the bedroom.

Later

Sally lay in his arms, asleep with a small smile on her face. Sonic lay next to her, heart racing, hoping it didn't start to freak out on him again. Luckily though, it returned to normal and he began to relax. It was always a gamble every time they had sex. So far, he had been fortunate at the fact the only problem he had so far was his heart raced for a few minutes afterwards, but nothing more serious would follow. But if he thought if he refused, he thought she might get suspicious and start asking questions. So to keep it a secret, he went along with it like nothing was wrong.

_Thank you God_. Sonic thought as the pounding in his chest subsided. He hadn't really been in the mood, but he couldn't say no to her. If he did, it would've seemed suspicious. But being a guy, once he got started, there was no turning back. Dr. Anderson said to try going solo and if there were any problems with that, then he had the all clear. After making sure he wasn't going to have any problems, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

That Morning

After their morning coffee, decaf for him, they called Cream and told her that the wedding had been moved up and she came over right away. She sat down with the two of them and looked over what they had planned out. Cream flipped through her notebook that she kept. "You two already have your suit and dress. I think everyone else can pick up what they need in the next couple of days."

She went over everything again. It turned out that Cream and Sally could get everything they needed in four days; the fact that there would be only ten people attending made it much easier. So taking that into consideration, the only thing left to do was pick a date. "How about next Friday?" Sally asked. "Thursday's good." Sonic suggested. Sally disagreed. "How about Sunday?" She said. Sonic thought about it for a few seconds. "Okay." He said.

Cream wrote it down. "Next Sunday it is. Are you two still going to write your own vows?"

"I completely forgot about that. I guess we should get around to it then." Sally said. "Shouldn't be too hard." Sonic said.

"Well, I guess if we're doing this in a week, we should start looking into getting everything together." Cream said, sticking her notebook back in her purse. "Right now?" Sally asked.

"Sure. If you're not busy, of course. I just thought we should do it as soon as possible." Cream said, getting up from the table. "Sure." Sally said, doing the same. "Couldn't hurt to get started now." Sally went into the bedroom and came out a minute later, purse in hand. "You coming?" She asked Sonic.

Sonic shook his head. "Nah. You ladies go have fun." He said. "I'll be back soon." Sally said to him, giving him a kiss. "Love you." "Love you too." Sonic said. He walked over to the window and watched as they both piled into Sally's car and drove off. _Now that they're gone..._

Sonic picked the remote up off the coffee table and went through the satellite's channel list until he came across the channels that played music 24 hours a day for background noise, then walked over to the desk in the living room and sat down. Since he had a good stretch of time to himself at the moment, he decided to go ahead and write his vows for the wedding and get them out of the way. Going through one of the desk drawers, he found a tablet of writing paper and set it on the desk and grabbed a pencil.

After staring at the blank paper a minute, he started to find the words and he began writing what came to him. He started writing from his heart, the feelings he had for her. It all came pouring out. Just as he was starting the third page, *ring*

"Dammit." Sonic muttered as he got up to find his phone; he hated being interrupted when he was in his groove. Sonic looked at the screen; it was Tails. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sonic. Heard you and Sally moved the wedding up."

_What the... "How'd you find out?"_

"_Cream just told me. So what made you guys move it up?"_

_Sonic paused for a second. "I got tired of waiting."_

"_Sounds like you. I guess we have to have a bachelor party for you or something."_

"_*Heh* 'Bachelor party?' I've been living with her for three years now. We've been practically been married the whole time. Now it's just a matter of making it official."_

"_Yeah, but it's tradition. We hafta do something. Get a stripper; go to a strip club. Something like that." "I don't think you're old enough for that yet. And besides, I'm pretty sure Cream wouldn't like that too much." Sonic still felt odd whenever Tails talked about sex or anything like that. He might've been fifteen, but Sonic still thought of him as the eight-year-old kid he had found seven years ago. "But having a guys night does sound pretty cool."_

"_Well, we have to do something... Ah, we'll figure something out. Anyway, I guess I should go. I'll call up Shadow and Knuckles and see if they have any ideas."_

"_Sounds good."_

_Tails hung up and Sonic put the phone down, then went back to writing. After another ten minutes, he had four pages total, and he began to go through it, cleaning it up and taking out what didn't fit. After editing it, he had two pages, which he went through one last time. "That should do it." He said. "Guess I still have it." He was a little surprised that he managed to hammer out his vows in such a short amount of time. He took the pages he had just written them and folded it up and on the back he wrote 'Vows'. *Eeee* The sound of squeaking brakes came from outside and when he looked outside, he saw Sally pull into the driveway._


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The Week Before

Rated T

A/N: This chapter drifts away from the main story. At first, it was only supposed to branch from the main plot for a few paragraphs further on down, but I had so much fun writing it, I decided to leave it in. I hope you all have as much fun reading it as I did crafting it.

"That was quick." Sonic said as Sally walked in. "Quick? We were gone three hours." She said. Sonic looked at the clock and saw she was right. "Wow. Time flies when you're working." He said as he sat down on the couch. "Where's Cream?"

"She went back home. We managed to get most of the stuff we needed, but we had to order it so it should be in sometime in the next few days. The rest we can pick up a day or two before the wedding. So what did you do while I was gone?"

"I managed to get my vows done."

"Really?" Sally asked. He nodded. "Can I see them?" She asked, moving closer to him. Sonic had them in his hands and he pulled them away from her quickly, putting them behind his back. "Nuh, nuh, uh. Not until Sunday." He laughed. "You're no fun." She said, laughing as well. He went into the bedroom and stuck them in the nightstand next to his side of the bed and she walked around and sat down beside him. When he opened the drawer, she noticed a few more pieces of paper lying inside. _Wonder what those are? _She thought as he closed the drawer back up.

"So do you think we'll have everything by Sunday?" Sonic asked.

"I hope so. You'd think with just ten people coming, it'd be easy." Sally said.

Four Days To Go

"I don't see why I have to leave now." Sonic said, grabbing the bag he packed with a few changes of clothes as well as his pills and his suit, which was hanging from a hook in the rear of the car. "It's tradition." Sally said, kissing him. "But this far away from the date? I always heard it was just the night before." He argued. The last three days had been a blur; every day seemed to run into the other.

"Look at it this way, when we see each other again, it'll be that much more special." Sally said. Sonic was going to spend the next few nights with Tails, while Cream would stay with Sally to get the wedding set up. Sonic went out and tossed his bag into the trunk and she drove him over to Tails' house and picked Cream up. Over the next few days, the plan was that her and Cream would hammer out the finite details of the wedding, pick everything up and Cream would set the wedding up the day before.

Before she drove off, Sonic leaned into the window and gave her one last kiss. "See you on Sunday." He said. "Love you."

"Love you too." Sally replied and she drove off. Tails walked outside and gave Sonic a hug. "Guess it's just going to be you and me for the next couple of days." Tails said. "Yeah. Just like old times, eh?" Sonic said and they walked into the house. As they walked inside, Sonic set his bag on the couch and if he didn't know where he was, he wouldn't have recognized the place. "What the hell happened in here?" Sonic asked, looking around. The last time he had went inside Tails' house, it was almost bare. Now it had some furniture.

"Oh, this?" Tails asked, waving a finger around the room. "That was Cream's idea." He said. Sonic hadn't been in Tails' place in a good stretch of time and the last time he saw the inside, the house was pretty much bare. Being an inventor and of the scientific mind, Tails didn't see much use for furniture unless it was involved with his lab. "She thought it was a little bare, so she decided to decorate. But I told her 'Do what you want to the house, just leave my lab alone.'"

"So, that's still your inner sanctum?" Sonic asked. Tails nodded. "I still spend some of my time down there, but not as much as I did."

Sonic went into the kitchen and scoured the fridge, then realized where he was and closed the door. "Sorry." Sonic said. "Don't worry about it. My place is your place. You know that." Tails said. Sonic opened the fridge again and grabbed a soda. Tails held his hand up and Sonic grabbed one for him too. It was Cola, which he wasn't supposed to have, but he felt like a change. He went into the living room and sat down and Tails joined him. "So, what're we doing tonight?" Sonic asked. "Thought I'd order a pizza tonight, watch a movie." Tails said. "You know, take it easy."

"Cool. What's the movie?" Sonic asked. Tails picked up a DVD case off the table beside the couch. "Kick Puncher 5." He said, grinning and nodding. (Hate to borrow from Community, but it popped into my head. Plus it's an awesome show.) "Sweet." Sonic said.

"Then on Saturday, we'll have your bachelor party." Tails said, getting up and putting the movie into the DVD player. "I still find it odd calling it a bachelor party since I haven't been a bachelor for a long time." Tails shrugged. "Call it 'A Last Hurrah' then. Me, Shadow and Knuckles already have it planned out."

"And that is?" Sonic asked. "We're gonna do what people do at every one of those things. We're gonna get drunk and watch porn." He said. "What?" Sonic asked.

Tails had a serious look on his face, then started laughing. "I'm just messing with you." He said. "You know I can't drink." He said and calmly took a drink of his soda.

_What the hell? _"You're serious?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Tails said, pushing a button on the remote; the movie started going through the previews. "Eeh, got ya." Tails said, laughing.

Sonic laughed with him. "I thought you were serious." It was impossible to tell with Tails. "I can't believe you fell for that one." He took another drink of his soda. "No. That'd just be weird. Four guys gathering together in a dark room to watch strangers go at it? That's just..." Tails shuddered.

Sonic laughed. "Yeah. Then everyone kinds sneaks off for a minute, then comes back like nothing's wrong. But everyone knows what really happened."

"And you know that how?" Tails asked, slowly looking over at Sonic. He just laughed. "Let's just watch the movie."

Later That Night

"All right, bro. See you in the morning." Sonic said as Tails walked back to his room. "See you in the morning." Tails said and shut the door to his room. Sonic lay down on the couch, and grabbed his phone and dialed Sally's number. _Hope she's still awake._ He thought as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Sally said.

"Hey." Sonic said when she answered. "You weren't asleep, were you?"

"No. I was getting ready to. So what's going on with you?"

"Same as you. Just thought I'd give you a call before I crashed for the night."

"So what'd you guys do tonight?"

"Watched a movie, pizza. Just hung out. What about you and Cream? Did you guys get anymore done on the wedding?"

"We got most of the stuff we ordered. The rest of it should be here tomorrow. Sonic heard Sally let out a sigh. "I just wish Mom and Dad were still here." She said. "I know. I miss them too." Sonic chimed in.

"I'm gonna go. I'm pretty tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you." "Love you too. Night." Sonic hung the phone up and laid it on the end table behind his head and shut his eyes.

It had been over three years since Sally's parents, who were King and Queen up until their deaths, were great people, caring and friendly to everybody. Coming from royalty and living in the oldest castle that dated back over 1000 years in Mobius history, she was first in line to succeed the throne and when Sally first introduced Sonic and Tails to them, both of them thought they were going to be a couple of stuck up snobs. But they were just like Sally and welcomed them like he was their own son. One day, Robotnik launched a surprise attack on the castle in an attempt to rule Mobius. They knew he had plans to try something, but they didn't know when.

The King and Queen had decided to launch a surprise attack on Robotnik, but thanks to one of his spies that he had sent to infiltrate the castle, the King and Queen were directed toward one of Robotnik's old abandoned hideouts. When they brought up concerns that he hadn't been there for over two years, Robotnik's spy convinced them that he might've started using it again in an attempt to fool their scouts. The spy convinced the King and Queen that he would be expecting them to hit one of his other hideouts and the King, in an attempt to take him out for good, sent over three-quarters of his guard to take Robotnik down, leaving a quarter of the castle's forces behind. Sonic and Tails, having massive experience battling him, urged the King to send them along with his forces and the King agreed and they set out for Robotnik's hideout, which was a day away by foot.

Robotnik bided his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That night, he made his move. Sally remembered it well. She had accompanied Sonic on some of the missions he had been given. Her Mother and Father both forbade her from going out on such dangerous missions, but she never listened. Sally felt as part of the Royal family, she should be doing something more than just be a Princess. She was as strong willed as her mother was, but that night, she wished she had been at the castle. As they prepared to break down the door to the hideout Robotnik had supposedly holed up in, Sonic, Tails and Sally got word that the castle was under attack.

It was an early morning raid, the castle security and automated defense systems had been hacked and disabled by his spy. Robotnik's forces swept in and clashed with what security forces remained in the castle. The call went out to Sonic, Tails and Sally and they all began to head back to the castle to defend it and Sonic went ahead of them, having the advantage of speed. Unfortunately, even at a full run, it took him an hour to reach the castle, it was too late. He arrived just as the castle's security forces pushed them back. It turned out, Robotnik wasn't even trying to take the throne. He was just trying to throw the kingdom into chaos, which he finally succeeded.

The King had died in the castle's courtyard, trying to fight off Robotnik's hoard, and the Queen died from an explosion. The castle was home to about 300 people, and when the attack began, she and a few others began escorting the children in the castle to a safe room in the basement and as the last of the children made it in the room, the Queen had just started shutting the large steel doors when she saw the Bot aim it's weapon at the steel doors. It saw an easy kill, and the Queen in an unselfish act for her people, shut the doors and just as they sealed shut, the Bot fired a bomb at the doors, killing her instantly, but saving the lives of 60 children and 12 adults in the process.

Following the traditional three-day mourning period, the King and Queen in royal tradition, were supposed to be given a Royal funeral. But, in their will, they wanted it kept simple. The reasoning behind that was, none of the citizens of Mobius could afford the type funeral that had been planned for them, so why should they make it seem like they were better than everyone else? They both requested a simple, private funeral and they were granted one. There was a public memorial a few days afterward and their funeral was planned a week later. Sally, Sonic, Tails and a few of the King and Queen's closest friends and family were present, as well as the castle staff.

Afterwards, Sally was introduced as the new Queen, and she made it her mission to hunt down Robotnik, which she did. He was captured a few years later, ironically by the same plan drawn up by her parents. It was successful and he was tried and, in a punishment that hadn't been handed down in Mobius in over 100 years, sentenced to die for the murders of the King and Queen. When he was taken down to the castle's jail to confront him, the guards had been having their 'fun' with him. He had his fare share of bruises and a large gash on his forehead where one of the guards had cracked him over the head with his nightstick.

When she saw this, Sally, instead of smiling gleefully at what had happened to the man who had been tormenting the citizens of Mobius over the years, she called out for a Doctor. "Milady! What're you doing?" The head guard demanded. The nightstick he was holding still had a bit of Robotnik's blood on the tip of it. "Don't you know what this man did? He killed the King and Queen! He deserves-"

"Shut up!" She barked. The other guards snapped to attention as her voice echoed through the halls. The Doctor that had been called rushed in and began to treat Robotnik, although he did so reluctantly. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She demanded.

"But milady, he killed your parents." He said nervously. "He doesn't deserve-" "Quiet!" Sally was furious. "I don't need you reminding me of that!" She snapped. The Doctor finished examining Robotnik and stood up. "Milady, other than a few cuts, bruises and the gash on his forehead, he'll be fine." The Doctor said. Sally nodded. "Put him in his cell." She said. Two of the guards nodded and quickly put Robotnik back in his cell.

"If my Mother and Father were here, do you think they'd approve of you beating a defenseless man?" Sally asked. "But, milady. It's what he deserves." The guard said.

Sally glared at Robotnik through the iron bars in his cell. "I'd be lying if I said he doesn't deserve it, but, do you think my parents would approve of what you've done, even if that person were _him_?" She asked, pointing at Robotnik. "No milady." The guard answered, looking down on the floor.

"No, they wouldn't. They wouldn't approve of this kind of treatment on anyone, and I don't approve of it either. He may be a... horrible monster, but he's going to get a fair trial and the proper punishment." She turned toward the guard and he backed up from her. "As punishment for what you've done, I am suspending you for three weeks without pay." That was one of the hardest orders she ever had to give. It was insane; stop beating a man who has killed God only knows how many people including her parents, give him medical treatment, and punish the guards who were getting revenge. Yeah, that made sense.

"Milady-" the guard protested, but she glared at him again. "Do you want to go for four?" She asked. He shook his head no. "Good." She said. The guard hung his head and left Sally with the three remaining guards. "You there!" She demanded, pointing at one of the guards. "Milady!"

"Call for replacements." She ordered. "Milady?"

"You heard me. You three are excused for the day and your pay is suspended for the next two days for this little incident. Is that clear?" She demanded. They nodded without saying a word and the guard called for their replacements.

The whole time, Robotnik, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, began laughing. "What's so funny?" Sally asked him. "Oh, princess. You remind me of your mother." His voice was cold, calculating and dark. "So kind, even to those who don't deserve it. In fact, you're just like her, saving the weak from the strong." He smiled, his thin moustache turning upward with the grin that formed on his face. "You know, there was a camera on the bot that killed your mother." He said, his voice calm.

"Shut up." She growled. "I saw the whole thing." The expression on his face took on a sad expression. "I watched as the bot locked on to that door as the last of those innocent people went scurrying for protection, your mother trying desperately to secure their safety."

"Stop it!" Sally demanded, tears steaming from her face. "It was a selfish act, really." He said in a singsong tone. "Oh, yes. She knew it was either her or them. And what do you think she choose? Selfish." Robotnik laughed, and then he spoke in a high pitched voice. "If I save them, people will remember me instead of these worthless peasants." Robotnik's imitation of her mother didn't sit well with anyone in earshot. Sally felt her blood boil rapidly. 'They'll remember me.' *Feh* It was a selfish act, really. If she really were a woman of the people, she would've let them die; let them have the glory instead of sucking it up for herself like she did, like a bitch." Robotnik smiled his evil grin. He fed off the misery of others and at the moment, he was filling up at the buffet. "So how long did it take for them to clean her up off the floor? Did they shovel her remains up, or did they have to use a sponge?"

"You son of a bitch!" Sally screamed and before any of the guards could react, she reached over and grabbed one of the side arms and aimed it at Robotnik's head. He just laughed at her. "Oh, please your majesty. Go ahead. Take the glory for yourself. Just like mommy and daddy would." He laughed his sinister laugh again. "Milady, put the gun down." One of the guards pleaded. "Please." Another one begged.

"You're wrong, Robotnik," She growled. "I do." *Bang*

A single shot rang out and reacted from the loud bang of the gun. When they opened them, smoke was pouring out of the barrel, but Robotnik was still standing, a hole where the bullet had went into the wall a few inches from the side of his head. He still had that grin on his face. "But I'm going to see you get what's coming to you, like my mother and father would." By now, the guards that had been called in as replacements had heard the shot and had come running down to see what had happened. "If anyone asks, one of your weapons misfired and the truth doesn't leave this place. Understood?" She said. "Yes, milady!" The guards said.

"Good. Now, he is to be treated as a normal prisoner. No one is to _touch_ him unless he steps out of line. If I find out someone does anything like this again, there will be _severe_ consequences. Is that understood?"

"Yes, milady." The guards said in unison. Sally handed the gun back to the guard she grabbed it from and he re-holstered it. As Sally began to walk out, Robotnik began laughing.

"Oh, my dear deluded Princess. You're way too soft. You should've killed me when you had the chance." Robotnik grinned, then stepped back when one of the guards whacked his club against the bars. "Keep back!" He barked. Robotnik just laughed that low, gravely laugh he had and sat down on the stone bench. "Drop back by when you get a chance." Robotnik said as she walked away from the holding cells.

When Sally walked out, Gandor, her father's closest advisor, ran over to her. "Milady, I heard the shot, are you all right?" He asked. "I'm fine. One of the guard's weapons misfired. Have all side arms checked immediately." She said. "Right away." He said and turned to give the order. "Gandor." She called out and he went back to her. "Yes, milady?" He asked.

"Do you have a minute?" She asked. "Of course. What seems to be the trouble?" He asked. "Don't you think it's a little odd that we managed to capture Robotnik so easily? He pretty much surrendered when we found him." Sally asked. "Yes." He said quietly. "I thought so too. I'll have the guards keep a close eye on him." Gandor said and walked away to give the orders to the guards. "One more thing, Gandor." Sally said. "Yes?"

"No one is to associate with him, address him or look at him unless it's necessary." Sally said. "Yes, milady." Gandor nodded and went on his way. Robotnik was scheduled for execution in a week, another decision that was highly unusual. He was only allowed three basic meals a day with no contact. He wasn't even allowed to be let out of his cell, not even to exercise or shower, something that was allowed, even to the most hardened criminals. But because of the crime's he had committed over the years, those privileges were revoked; kept quiet to only a select number of people. Of course, if it did get out to the people, Sally didn't think anyone would actually mind.

The night before, Robotnik was offered to choose his last meal. The chef told him, "You can choose whatever you like." Robotnik looked at him and being Robotnik, looked the chef dead in the eye, grinned that sinister grin of his and didn't say a word. The chef backed away from the cell door, a terrified look on his face; Robotnik continuing to stare him down. The chef started trembling and as he backed away from the cell, he tripped and fell on his butt. One of the guards rushed over to him and helped him up. The guard saw the look on the chef's face and a chill ran down his spine. The chef hadn't been told not to make eye contact with him and now he was reduced to a shell of a man.

When the chef got to his feet, he quickly made his way over to the door and flung it open, screaming. The remaining guards shook their heads and turned their backs to fatty, except one answered the intercom on the wall. "What the hell's going on down there?"

"You might want to make sure the chef's ok." And the guard went back to his post.

The Day Of

Robotnik was scheduled for execution around six that evening. Cameras were set up to broadcast the event live, reporters were billing it as the greatest victory ever in the history of Mobius, praising the King and Queen for their bravery and Sally for ordering the mission that captured him. Royal law stated that a prisoner was given three options, death by firing squad, lethal injection or, albeit a gruesome choice, electric chair and they were chosen by the King and Queen. The process was odd, yet simple. All three methods were placed inside three envelopes and presented before the King and Queen, neither knowing which envelope contained which remained a mystery to everyone until it was read aloud to the prisoner.

The three methods were presented in their envelopes to Sally and she made her choice, which was then rushed down to the cells. Three minutes later, the guard that watched Robotnik's cell called up to the Throne room and read the final verdict.

"Ivo Robotnik, by order of the Queen of Mobius, you have been sentenced to die." The faint sound of paper ripping could be heard. "You are charged with the murders of over 800 Mobians as well as the assassination of the King and Queen. Your punishment is as follows."

There was a moment of silence. No one knew what had been chosen, and everyone held their breath as the verdict was read. "Ivo Robotnik, you are hereby sentenced to die by firing squad. Do you have anything to say?"

"Oh princess, you shouldn't have." The familiar growling chuckle could be heard over the speaker. "Very well. Punishment will be carried out in one hour." The guard said, then the speaker went silent. Once that was over, Sally turned to Gandor. "Gandor, I want his body taken for DNA testing to make sure it's really him, and I want a task force formed immediately following Robotnik's execution. I want them to scour every place we know he's been, every hideout he has. Make sure he's really dead. He's done this sort of thing before and I want to make he's going to stay dead this time."

'Yes, Milady." Gandor said.

The Execution

She walked out to the Royal balcony and sat with Gandor, as well as Sonic and Tails, who had been invited to sit with them. She sat down and waited for the guards to bring Robotnik out. The crowd was restless and the cameras that had been gathered around pulled back since it was illegal to show an execution on live TV.

Finally, he was brought out, escorted by five heavily armed guards, all carrying automatic weapons. Robotnik grinned and looked around, satisfied that all eyes were on him. The guards marched him over to a wall on the far side of the castle and stood him against the wall, tied his hands to a pole so he couldn't escape and walked away. Sally kept her eyes trained on him and he looked up at her with that smug grin on his face. The guards fell back, with the exception of three of them and the head guard, who turned to address Robotnik. "Ivo Robotnik, you have been sentenced to die by firing squad and will now be offered the chance to speak. Do you have anything to say?"

"Indeed I do." He said. "To the people of Mobius, I hereby demand an apology from the princess. Do you know what I've went through since I've been here? I was savagely beaten by those ruffians you call guards."

"You deserved it you fat bastard!" Someone in the crowd shouted. "And the insults. I didn't think anyone could use language like that." He shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know how you put up with such disrespectful thugs, my dear princess." The crowd began booing him. "Get it over with already!"

"We want blood!" Robotnik shook his head. "Don't you people have any manners? Anyway... to her majesty, Queen Sally. I want to say, in that light, you remind me of your mother. You didn't happen to bring the sponge with you, did you? I know she'd hate to miss this. I guess we could prop your father up on his throne. Although I don't know if he'd be able to see- oh that's right!" He hung his head and clicked his tongue together several times. "His head was vaporized by that laser, wasn't it?" He looked over at Tails. "You know, my dear boy, if you want, I'd be willing to share with you my knowledge on laser and weapons technology. After all, I think the King gave me a pretty successful test run." The anger of the on-lookers rose to a fever pitch and the guards stood by in case they decided to rush Robotnik and tear him apart with there bare hands.

"That's enough!" One of the guards snapped, and started to place a black hood over his head. "No, no! Leave it off. It's undignified and I won't be seen out in public with my gorgeous face uncovered." The guard looked up at Sally and she shrugged. The guard did as well and removed the hood. "Really! I'd think the Royal family would treat their prisoners better. Covering their heads with a cloth." Robotnik huffed.

"It's not a bad look." Sonic muttered. The head guard stepped away. "Sentence will now be carried out. God have mercy on your soul."

Robotnik sneered and looked up at Sally again, then back at the three guards in front of him. They were fifteen feet from him, each carrying a rifle. It was set up where one rifle had a live round, and the other two had blanks, which were then shuffled around, then one rifle was handed to each of the shooters. That way, the punishment could be carried out without any of them feeling guilty for having to shoot a man. Of course, this was a special occasion and none of the three felt any remorse for what they were about to do.

"Ready." The head guard ordered. All three men held their rifles across their chests and pulled the bolt back and loaded their guns. "Aim." The three leveled their sights on Robotnik's chest. Robotnik looked up at Sonic, Sally and Tails, and gave them one final sneer and in a low voice as he looked up at Sonic, Sally and Tails, he said, "I'll see you in hell."

"FIRE!" The head guard ordered. Three shots rang out simultaneously, and Robotnik jerked forward as the bullet pierced his chest, into his heart and came clear out the other side. His face grimaced in a look of pain, then relaxed as his heart gave out and he slowly slumped to his knees, large body held up by his hands, which were tied to the pole. The doctor that had attended to him when he was brought in and beaten by the guards walked over and placed two fingers on Robotnik's neck and felt for a pulse. He probed around a couple more times, then shook his head yes. Robotnik was dead.

It was announced and there was no cheer from the crowd, no big uproar or celebration like everyone thought there would be. Just a stunned silence. Sally stood up from her chair as the guards untied Robotnik's hands from the pole and began taking him back into the castle to confirm his identity like Sally had ordered. "Ladies and Gentleman." Gandor said from the balcony. "The Queen will now give a speech she has prepared." He moved away and Sally took his place. "Thank you. Royal subjects, one of the most evil men Mobius has ever known, has been captured and justice served for the crimes he has committed to the people of Mobius, as well as the assassination of the King and Queen." Everyone applauded.

"But, that could not have been accomplished with out the help of these two men, Sonic and Miles Prower." She turned to Sonic and Tails. "Please step forward." She said. They did, and stood right next to her. "These two have put their lives on the line countless times under orders from my Mother and Father before their deaths as well as myself and have shown bravery time and time again when asked. If not for them, Robotnik might have never been caught and we have them, along with every member of the Royal guard to thank for Robotnik's capture. By the power vested in me and on behalf of the Mobian people, I award you, Sonic, the Silver Star and the Mobian Five-Star Cross in honor of your bravery and service to the Mobian people." Gandor handed her a small box, which held the medals, and she handed it to Sonic. "Thank you, your Majesty." He said and bowed to her. "Miles Prower, by the power vested in me and on behalf of the Mobian people, I award you the Silver Star and the Mobian Five-Star Cross in honor of your bravery and service to the Mobian people." Gandor handed her another box, which she handed to Tails. "Thank you, your Majesty." Tails said, and backed away.

The on-lookers applauded, and when it died down, she began to speak again. "Over the last few days, I have been weighing a difficult decision. After my parents were murdered, I vowed to hunt down Robotnik until he was found, and now, we have accomplished that goal. But, as I said, this decision has been difficult and I have not taken it lightly. I swore that justice would be served to a man that not only killed and tortured 800 Mobians, but my parents as well, and for reasons that are personal to me, I hereby resign as your Queen, effective immediately." Shocked gasps rose from the crowd, and a few scattered "No's" could be heard coming from a few of the people.

"I do not make this decision lightly as I said before, but, this decision was made for reasons that are personal to me and I hope you'll understand that. A replacement will be found shortly, which I am sure will be swift. I thank you all for understanding and now, I will simply say good-bye." Sally waived to the crowd one final time and walked back in the castle, leaving them with more questions than answers.

"Oh, dammit." Sonic muttered as he opened his eyes and got up off the couch. It felt like his bladder was about to explode and he quickly made his way to the bathroom. He made it just in time and once he started, he felt like he wouldn't stop for a good minute. "Jesus, I know I didn't take one of those pills." He said, shaking off the few drops that remained and pulling his boxers back up.

Before he flushed, he heard Tails voice coming through the walls. It wasn't that he was eavesdropping, the walls of the house, save for his lab, were thin and any noise louder than a strong whisper could be heard through them. _Sounds like he's talking to Cream._ Sonic though, flushed and washed his hands, and as he turned out the lights and closed the bathroom door behind him, it happened.

*Ngh!* Sonic felt his chest tighten and he had trouble breathing. It felt like he had just ran ten miles and was trying to breathe through a coffee stirrer. "Shit..." Sonic mumbled as he stumbled against the wall. He was just a few feet from the bag that had his pills in it, but it felt like it was a mile away. It hurt to walk, but Sonic dragged himself over to it through the pain and fell on the couch and dragged the bag up on the couch and rummaged through it. "C'mon..." He mumbled as the tightness in his chest increased. He was starting to sweat and his vision was going blurry.

Before it got to the point where he couldn't see, he grabbed the bottle of Clornol and opened it and chewed one of the pills and swallowed it. A minute passed and the pain was still there. Another passed and another and another. Sonic leaned back on the couch, praying that the pill would work. Five minutes later and the pain was still there and that was the limit. Sonic reached out for his phone to call for help when the pain slowly began to subside.

Sonic leaned forward, sweat pouring off his head. He was scared. Last time he took one of those pills, it took close to three minutes for it to work, now it was up by two minutes. Sonic got up off the couch, and in a move that was out of character, he dropped to his knees and began to pray.

"_God,"_ He thought. _"I know I haven't been the greatest person to ever live, and I know we don't exactly see eye to eye, but if you're willing, I'd like to ask you for one thing. Please let me make it to the wedding. I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for her. Please. It would mean so much to her, make her happy. I just want to see her happy. Please don't make her suffer for what I've done to her. Please give her the happiness and joy that I stole from her."_ Sonic was weeping silently now. "Please." He said in a low whisper. "I'm sorry."

The Next Morning

*Tink* "Oh, damn." Tails said, plates banging against each other as he pulled them out of the cabinet. "Morning." Sonic mumbled as he made his way to the bathroom. "Morning." Tails replied as he set the plate on the counter. *Tink* "Dammit. I told her to get plastic ones." Tails said when the plate banged on the counter again.

When Sonic finished in the bathroom, he did his usual morning routine, brush his teeth, hair, wash his face to wake up and poke around on his legs to make sure he wasn't retaining fluid. It was a little odd when he pressed down on his shins and there was a dimple in the skin, but all he had to do was take one of those 'water pills' as they were known and everything was taken care of.

After pressing down a few times and not seeing anything alarming, he smiled since that meant he wasn't retaining that day. After the trouble he had earlier that morning, he needed some kind of good news to start the day. That also meant he could drink a little more than if he was retaining that day.

"Hungry?" Tails asked as Sonic walked out of the bathroom. "A little." Sonic said as he walked into the kitchen and tossed a couple of slices of bread in the toaster and poured a cup of coffee. "I didn't know you drank this stuff." Sonic said to Tails as he grabbed a cup out of the cupboard. "Yeah." Tails replied. "It's decaf, but it works for me. Cream bought it a while back and I thought, 'This ain't gonna be good' you know?" Sonic grabbed the pot and poured a cup.

"But I grew into it." He said, taking another sip. Sonic pushed the button for the toaster and the toasted slices popped out of the toaster; grabbing the butter, he spread on a thin layer per his doctor's orders and sat down at the table. "So, what's up for today?" Sonic asked.

The Bachelor Party

"Shadow and Knuckles should be here in a while." Tails said as he hung up his phone. Knowing them, Sonic figured they had something planned, but he really had no idea. "So, what, is there gonna be like a stripper that pops out of a cake or something?" Sonic asked.

"No." Tails shook his head. "One, Cream would kill me and two, we couldn't find someone that would bake one that would hold a person."

Sonic laughed. "I know Sally wouldn't take that well."

When Shadow and Knuckles got there, they walked in, Knuckles carrying a silver breifcase and set it on the table. "What's that?" Sonic asked, pointing at it.

"This?" Knuckles asked, flipping the locks open and raising the top. Inside was a green felt cloth and when he removed it, Sonic saw what it was. A poker set, complete with chips, three decks of cards and a set of dice. _Sweet! _Sonic thought. He enjoyed the game and was always up for a hand. "You didn't happen to fit a stripper in there, did you?" Sonic asked. Knuckles pulled the felt out and laid it on the table and spread it out. "Yeah right. If we had one and Sally found out, she'd kill all of us." Knuckles said, getting the felt in place. It had a poker table design on it, perfect for playing hold 'em.

"Where's he going?" Sonic asked as Shadow went out the door. "He must've forgot to grab the beer." Knuckles said. When Sonic heard the word 'beer', he kicked himself mentally. He wasn't a big drinker and didn't do it just to get drunk, but he did enjoy it every now and then; unfortunately, it was off limits now.

"Cool." Sonic said. Shadow came back in a few second's later, carrying a six pack and Sonic laughed. "Dude, do you know how odd that looks? Seeing you carrying that?" He said through stifled laughs.

"What?" Shadow asked in his low voice as he walked over to the fridge and stuck it inside. "I'm not allowed to have one every now and then?" Sonic saw he actually looked a little hurt by his comments. "No, I didn't mean it like that." Sonic said. "It's just, I never pictured you as a drinker."

Shadow shook his head and laughed. "Can't have a bachelor party without 'em." He said.

"Hey guys." Tails said as he appeared from nowhere. "Hey." Knuckles and Shadow said. "Where'd you go?" Shadow asked. Tails walked over into the kitchen and stopped in front of the fridge. "I got a call from Cream." He said casually as he opened the fridge. "Hey, who brought the beer?" Tails asked, poking his head out from the fridge. Shadow pointed to himself as Knuckles and Sonic finished setting up the table.

Tails shook his head in disbelief and grabbed a soda. _Always a surprise with that guy._ He thought and grabbed a soda and headed over to the table. Everything was ready to go and they all sat down and Knuckles opened the case with the chips. "Who needs change?" He asked. Shadow, Knuckles and Tails pulled their wallets out and pulled out $50 each.

Sonic looked at the three of them. "We're playing for money?" He asked. "Yeah." Knuckles said. "Did you think we were playing for marshmallows or something?" He asked, pulling out a stack of chips and dividing them evenly. Sonic shrugged and went to get his wallet out of his bag and while he was there, he slipped one of his pills into his pocket in case he needed it.

"Here." Sonic said, tossing a $50 of his own on the table. Knuckles took it, gave him some chips and stuck the bill into the case and closed it up.

"Okay people, hold 'em's the game, dollar ante, five raise maximum; blinds are a buck." Knuckles said, then he grabbed the big white chip that said 'Dealer' and gave it a flick with his finger. It spun around for a few seconds, then settled in front of Tails. "Kay Tails, you're the dealer." Knuckles said, handing him the deck of cards. Tails took the deck and Knuckles threw in a dollar along with Shadow.

Thirty Minutes Later

"Damn." Knuckles said, throwing his cards down in disgust. "Eight games in a row! You're not counting cards or something, are you?" He said to Tails. The fox had been on a hot streak and had won nearly $38 from the three of them. "What can I say?" Tails said, raking the small pile of chips toward him. "Just lucky I guess."

"Calm down, Knucks." Shadow said. "You know he wouldn't cheat us." Shadow said. "I know that. And don't call me that." Knuckles said. Tails separated the chips he'd won into four stacks, arranged by color and put them with the rest, then he stood up. "I'll be right back." He said, walking off to the back of the house, the bathroom door closing a few seconds later.

"How is he that good?" Shadow asked. "You know him." Sonic said. "Kid's good at just about everything." Sonic reached over and took a drink from his beer. It was against his Doctor's advice, but, he decided to go ahead and have one anyway; well two. Besides, how many more times was he going to be able to have fun like this with them again.

"I have a question for the three of you." Sonic said. "And that is?" Knuckles asked, shuffling the deck. "Whaddaya think about letting him have a beer with us?" Sonic asked. Shadow and Knuckles stared at him, dumbfounded looks on their faces. "You're serious?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow just stared at him. "Yeah. I am. Think about it. He's almost sixteen (the legal age when all Mobians were considered adults), why not let him have one? I'm pretty sure he's gonna be doing it in a couple months when his birthday rolls around. Why not let him have one, just between us?"

Shadow and Knuckles looked at each other and, to Sonic's surprise, they both agreed. "Really?" Sonic asked. He figured Knuckles wouldn't be much of a problem, but he figured Shadow would've put up a bigger fight about it. "Yeah." Shadow said. "He's almost old enough."

"And besides, it's just us and I know he's not gonna go out and drive or something stupid like that. Besides, I kinda want to see what 'drunk' Tails is like." Knuckles said. Shadow and Sonic laughed and they agreed. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of water running, then heard the door open and Tails walked back over to the table and sat down. "Okay. Hope you guys are ready, cause I'm not going easy on you now." Tails said, tossing a dollar into the pot.

Shadow and Knuckles looked at Sonic and nodded. "Hey, Tails?" Sonic said.

"What?"

"Want a beer?" Sonic asked.

Tails face took a serious tone and he looked at the three of them. _Did I hear that right?_ "What?"

"Yeah. You're almost sixteen and since it's just us, we figured we'd let you join in on the fun." Sonic said. Tails didn't say anything. He just looked at them, trying to figure out if they were joking with him. "Really?" He asked cautiously.

The other three nodded and a slight smile formed on Tails' face, then once he realized they weren't joking, he nodded.

"You know where it is." Sonic said. Tails grinned from ear to ear. He had never touched a drop of it before and he had always wondered what being drunk was like. It wasn't like he was clamoring to find out and get fall down, throw up all over yourself, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity his friends had extended to him.

"There's one problem." Shadow said. "I only picked up a six pack. We're gonna need more."

"I can drive if you want to get some more." Tails suggested and it was agreed upon. After all, Tails hadn't been drinking, they needed more and he had his license. "Cool." Shadow said and he and Tails headed out to his car. "Back in five." Shadow said as they walked out the door. Tails and Cream only lived a few minutes out of town, so it wouldn't be long until they got back.

*heh* "That's just weird." Knuckles said. "What's that?" Sonic asked as he grabbed the cards and began dealing again, but without playing for money.

"Tails taking Shadow down to get beer." Knuckles said as he grabbed his cards. "Never thought I'd see or say that."

Sonic nodded. *heh* "Yeah. Hell, let the kid have a little fun." Sonic said. "You ever do anything like this when you were his age?" Sonic asked. "You mean drink?" Knuckles asked; Sonic nodded.

Knuckles nodded and threw two of his cards away and grabbed two more. "Yeah. Couple of times. But I never went overboard. Just to see what it was like, y'know?"

Sonic nodded and drew three. "Not really. I mean, I tried it, but I never really got into it." Sonic said. "Two pair, A's and sevens." He said, laying his cards down on the table.

"Three of a kind, 3's." Knuckles said, laying his down.

"Damn." Sonic said in disgust.

"Hey, at least you didn't lose any cash this time." Knuckles said. Sonic nodded and Knuckles shuffled the deck again.

*heh* "I just had a weird image." Sonic said. "What's that?" Knuckles asked. "Imagine Tails drunk. I mean fall down drunk and he's trying to fly." Sonic said.

Knuckles closed his eyes and started laughing. "Okay, that is pretty funny." He said.

Ten minutes later, Shadow and Tails came back, Shadow carrying a twelve pack under his arm. Sonic and Knuckles saw it and nodded. "Damn man, how wasted are you planning of getting." Knuckles asked. Shadow laughed. "It's a party, right?" He asked as he set it in the fridge, opened the box, took four out headed back to the table.

He handed them out and sat down and cracked his open. It was an odd sight to Sonic's eyes. Shadow continued to surprise him every time he saw him. He had gotten to know him better over the last few months, but the one thing he never pictured him doing was drinking. It just seemed out of character for him.

But Sonic shook it off, cracked open the fresh can and took a drink, Knuckles opened his and Tails sat and stared at his. He was nervous, but he reached out and took the can. He looked at the others and they weren't even paying attention to him, talking amongst themselves. _Okay, you asked for it, and you got it. He thought. Tails grabbed the tab and pulled it back._

_When he cracked it open and it hissed, the others looked out of the corner of their eye's and watched as Tails took his first drink. The beer flowed inside his mouth and he almost gagged on it, but he forced himself to swallow it. "Ugh." He shuddered. The others applauded him and he looked up at them. "That didn't taste like I thought it would." He said, setting the can back down._

_Sonic reached out for it. "So you don't like it then?" He asked. Tails pulled the can away from him. "I never said that." Tails said, setting the can closer to him. "I just wasn't expecting it to be that bitter." He said, taking another drink. This time, the look on his face didn't have that horrified look and Sonic reached over and took another drink of his. "I guess if we need more, were screwed." Knuckles said. Sonic and Shadow nodded and Tails started to deal another hand._

_Twenty minutes and several hands later, the 12 pack including the original six pack, had been nearly drank. It brought the total up to 18. Knuckles had five, Sonic had five, Shadow had four which surprised all three of them and Tails had three and was in the process of finishing the final one. By this point, they were all drunk, slurring their words slightly and they all had that drunk smile on their faces; since it was his first time, Tails had the biggest smile. To everyone's amusement, they found out what kind of drunk Tails was. He was the quiet, happy kind. Sonic was cool, reserved kind, Knuckles was the slightly loud talker and Shadow, well he was Shadow. He was the same as when he was sober, but he just slurred his words._

_Tails got up, stumbled over to the fridge and grabbed the last one out of the fridge. He started walking back to the table, and reached out and steadied himself against the wall. "Oop, oop." He mumbled, chuckling a little. "You alright buddy?" Sonic asked, slurring his words and looking over at Tails. Tails nodded and smiled, his eyes half closed and he slowly stumbled back over to the table and sat down._

"_Yu need ta slo dowm." Knuckles mumbled. Tails cracked the can open and took a big drink. "He- he- hey." He mumbled. "You gys said I culd. If u ddn't want me tu," He looked up at Knuckles, one eye half open and a half smile on his face. "yu shuldnt hve said I culd."_

"_I think thts the last of it." Shadow said, slurring his words as well. "You- you know wht I just realized?" Shadow asked. "Wuzzat?" Sonic mumbled. "We're all wasted. How th hell am I gettng home?"_

"_yeh. I cam her wth u." Knuckles mumbled at Shadow. _

"_Tht's right." Shadow said, lightly hitting himself in the forehead with an open palm._

"_Hey, evrybdy hey evrybdy hey evrybdy hey evrybdy hey. Hey, evrybdy hey." Tails mumbled loudly. The others turned toward him, Sonic giggling as he got a good look at 'drunk' Tails. "We cn't drve. Why dn't u slep her tonght?" He asked._

_Shadow and Knuckles looked at each other and nodded. "Okay." Shadow said. "Snds good." Knuckles mumbled. Then there was a minute of silence. "So, re we stll playng gards or what?" Sonic asked._

"_I think wre passed tht." Shadow said. "So wht now?" Sonic asked. "We nd TV." Tails mumbled. Tails stood up, and fell back down into his chair and laughed. "Im srry, I'm alrdy drunk." He mumbled. The others stood up, and stumbled into the living room. Shadow, Knuckles and Sonic fell on the couch, laughing and looking up at the ceiling. Tails fell into the plush recliner and grabbed the remote._

"_Whadda wana watc?" He mumbled. No one said anything, save for Sonic, who drunkenly mumbled some kind of noise._

_Tails looked over and saw Knuckles and Shadow had already passed out. "Gues thy can't hold ther... whatchamacal it." Tails mumbled and turned to Sonic. "Hey! Blue!" Tails shouted._

"_Wat?" Sonic mumbled, looking over at the fox. Tails still had that cool, drunken smile on his face and it made Sonic laugh. "I gota tell u, thanks for letin me join in with u guys." Tails said._

"_Don't worry bout it." Sonic said. "Just don tell Sally."_

"_Don't wrry." Tails mumbled, leaning back in the chair. "I- Oh shit!" Tails eyes grew twice their size, then he jumped up and ran toward the bathroom, the door slamming behind him. Two seconds later, there was a loud and long, "BLLLGGGHHH!"_

"_Guess the party's over." Sonic said, looking at Shadow and Knuckles, who by now had passed out._

"_UUUGGGGHH!" Tails continued. "Oh, God!" Tails moaned as another round started and Sonic, out of curiosity, got up to check on the fox. "U OK bud?" Sonic called out as he drew closer to the bathroom and when he opened the door, Tails had failed to flick the light on. When Sonic did, he almost lost everything in his stomach as well._

_He saw Tails on both knees hugging the bowl, but he made one crucial mistake. His head wasn't aiming down through the hole in the seat, Instead, his head was hanging off the right side and he had thrown up a massive amount of beer and whatever else had been in his stomach. "Oh, God." Sonic moaned as the smell hit him and he leaned over the sink in case his stomach decided to do the same._

"_Tails?" Sonic asked. The fox moaned, looked up at him, smiled then turned his head as another round started, this time he managed to hit the water, but also hit the seat and the floor again. Sonic's stomach lurched, but he had an iron stomach and he managed to hold everything down. "You ok?" Sonic asked._

_Tails slowly turned his head toward Sonic, his body shaking slightly. "Yeah. I thin-" Tails turned back and another round began again, this time though he managed to make it into the bowl. Sonic walked over to the fox and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I gess we kno how much u can drink. C'mon." Sonic said, helping Tails up to his feet._

_Tails, with a little help from Sonic managed to get to his feet and Sonic saw that the fox had managed to puke all over himself as well. "I'm sorry. Gues I shuld hop in the showr." Tails mumbled, that drunken smile still on his face. Sonic let go of Tails, who somehow managed to stand on his own feet and Tails reached down and pulled his shirt off. When he did, he managed to Sonic's horror drag the front of the shirt across his face which almost made Sonic puke again. Tails tossed it on the floor and reached down and pulled his pants off, tossed them on top of his shirt, then without hesitation pulled of the briefs he was wearing; Sonic turned around just before Tails managed to reveal everything to him and Sonic walked out and sat back down on the couch. "Guess his limit's five." Sonic said to himself and laughed._

"_Whas so funny?" It was Knuckles. Sonic looked over at him and his eyes were closed, but his head was turned toward him._

"_Knucks? I thought u passed out." Sonic said. Knuckles shook his head. "No. Jus too bright in here." He said. "And don't call me that."_

"_Sorry." Sonic said. Knuckles turned away from him._

"_So wha happend?"_

"_He puked all over himself." Sonic said._

"_Sounds about right for his first time." Knuckles said. "Did I hear him puking?" "Yup. When he took his shirt off, some of it got on his face tho." Sonic said. He started to feel sleepy and he laid his head against the back of the couch._

_Knuckles shuddered. "I'm so glad I can hold my liqer."_

"_Me too." Shadow popped off._

"_I thought you passed out too." Sonic said without raising his head._

_Shadow shook his head. "No."_

_That was the last thing he remembered that night._

_A/N 2: The ending of this chapter where they get drunk was a little odd for me to write. Drunken Sonic characters, but when I got to the part just before I had Sonic convincing Shadow and Knuckles to let Tails have a beer with him I thought, 'If it was me in his situation and I knew I didn't have a long time to live, I'd want to have one last party with my friends like that.' so that's my reasoning for putting that in there. Also, like a few other parts of this story, it's based on someone in my family who has graciously let me re-tell it to all of you and I hope you enjoyed it._


	28. Chapter 28: The Aftermath & The Wedding

Chapter 28

The Aftermath & The Wedding

Before I start this, I took Misery and Dependence (up to Chapter 27) and put them all onto one blank word processor document, cleaned them up, took out all the spacing between paragraphs and Author's Notes, and all together, there are 228 pages counting both stories. Why? Just wondering how much I've done to this point. Anyway, read, enjoy and if you feel like it, review; A/N at the end. P.S. I won't be able to upload anything for a while, so this will be the last one for a while. I'll try to finish it as soon as possible, so please hang in there. Rated T for language.

The next morning when Sonic woke up, it was just after ten; his head was pounding and his mouth felt like a desert. "Shit." He mumbled as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He smacked his mouth together to try to get some kind of moisture in it, but it was pointless. _Need water._ He thought as he went to get up, but he was pinned down. When he passed out, Shadow was on his right side and Knuckles was on his left. Now, Shadow was hanging halfway off the arm of the couch, his head nearly touching the floor. Knuckles on the other hand, had fallen over Sonic's legs and was sleeping soundly.

"Knucks." Sonic said. Knuckles didn't move. "Knucks." Sonic repeated, this time reaching out and shaking him. Knuckles stirred a little, letting a "mmmmm" escape, then slowly woke up. "Wha- oh God." Knuckles moaned, sitting up fully and clutching the side of his head.

Sonic was feeling it as well, but not to the extreme Knuckles was. "What happened?" Knuckles asked, leaning forward and rubbing his forehead. "We got wasted." Sonic said. "Don't you remember?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Not really. All I remember is we played cards for a while, then I woke up to you shaking me." Now Shadow, having been woken up from his slumber, sat up and leaned his head back against the back of the couch. "Will you two keep it down?" He said without opening his eyes.

"I know what you mean." Knuckles said. "Shhhh." Shadow hissed. Sonic shook his head and walked into the bathroom. _This should be fun._ He thought as he opened the door. When he did, he looked down and saw the puddle of puke that was still around the toilet. "Oh God, that's right." He said. "I wonder how he's gonna feel this morning." Sonic said to himself as he stepped to the side that didn't have vomit on it and proceeded to go.

When he finished, he decided to check on the fox; he flushed and walked over to the door to Tails' bedroom and knocked on it. The door hadn't been closed, only pulled shut and when he knocked, it swung open slightly and he looked inside, but didn't see Tails lying on the bed. _Don't tell me..._he thought as he turned and went back to the bathroom.

Sonic walked over to the shower and gently pulled the glass door back and when he looked down, he saw Tails passed out and spread eagle in the tub. Apparently, Tails had managed to get into the shower and start cleaning himself up and even managed to turn the water off, but passed out before he was finished. _I'm surprised he managed to stand up in the shower without falling, let alone remember to turn the water off. _Sonic thought and quickly reached over, grabbed a towel and tossed it over Tails lower half. "That's refreshing to see first thing in the morning." He said as he leaned down.

"Tails." He called out, gently nudging Tails. The fox moved slightly, but didn't wake up. "Hey." Sonic said, gently rocking him again. "Hmmmm." Tails moaned; it was obvious that he was going to have a massive hangover like Knuckles and Shadow had; but it was their own fault. If they had eaten more than a couple of slices of pizza last night, their hangover's wouldn't be so bad.

"Wha..." Tails trailed off and he slowly sat up. He looked around and saw Sonic standing in front of him. "What happened?" Tails asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"Well, we all had a little too much fun last night." Sonic replied. Tails began to wake up now and began remembering bits and pieces. "So how the hell did I end up in here?" Tails asked. He started to stand up and Sonic helped him up. The towel Sonic had thrown over Tails dropped to the bottom of the tub and the fox quickly realized why he had it and reached down and covered himself up again; he blushed out of embarrassment. "Sorry." Tails said.

"Hey, it happens to most guys in the morning." Sonic replied. "So what happened last night?" Tails asked as he stepped out of the tub, rubbing the side of his head. "You don't remember?" Sonic asked. Tails shook his head.

Sonic simply pointed to the partially dried puddle of vomit next to the toilet and let him figure it out. "Me?" Tails asked, his eyes wide. Sonic nodded. "Yeah. You got it all over your clothes and when you went to take your shirt off... well, you got some of it on you."

Tails shook his head, looking down at the puddle next to the bowl. He let out a silent wow and went to change. Sonic walked out and grabbed the bag with his clothes and took out a fresh set. "You guys gonna be ok?" Sonic asked Knuckles and Shadow, who looked like they both had pretty good hangovers. "Yes." Knuckles hissed. "Just keep it quiet."

*RING* "Oh God!" Shadow moaned as Sonic's phone began to sound off on the table beside him. "Sorry." Sonic mumbled as he grabbed it and answered. "Hello?" Sonic said. Shadow angrily motioned for him to move away and he did. "Hey, Sal." Sonic said as he went to the back of the house. "What's up?"

"You ok? You sound a little... odd."

"Yeah. Just had a little bit to drink last night." Sonic said. Sally laughed. "Yeah. Cream told me they had something planned for you. So what'd you do?"

"Oh, you know," Sonic said as he wondered into a spare room. "Cards, drinking. The usual."

"No stripper?" Sally asked. Sonic laughed. "You know you're the only one I want stripping for me. Besides, I don't think it be right to do it in front of the others." Sonic said.

"Well you know they wouldn't be able to handle me." Sally said. "So, you ready for today?"

"For what?" Sonic asked. There was a short silence, then he heard Sally huff. "How much did you have last night? We've only been planning this for months." She said.

In the aftermath of last night, he forgotten about the wedding and when he realized what she was talking about, he almost dropped the phone. "No-no. I didn't forget." He said, somehow maintaining his composure. "I'll be ready. We're still doing it at five today, right?" Sonic asked.

"Well, no. We had to move it up to one." She said. _Oh shit!_ Sonic thought. "Don't worry. We'll be there. What happened?" Sonic asked.

"Well, th- what?" Sally stopped talking. "Be right there. I got to go. Something came up. Love you." She said quickly. "Love you-" *click*

"Fuck me." Sonic said as he walked out of the back room. Shadow and Knuckles were still sitting on the couch and Tails was in the kitchen, eating a small breakfast of eggs and toast, sipping on a cup of coffee. "I've got good news." He announced.

"Is it that you found a pair of earplugs?" Knuckles asked. "No." Sonic laughed. "It's even better. Something came up and Cream had to move the wedding up to one." He said, still laughing. "We've got three hours to get ready." He said.

Tails looked up from his plate. "You're serious?" He asked, his voice still slightly gravely. Sonic nodded. "We still need to get our stuff so we can change." Knuckles said from the couch. Shadow nodded. "Do I have to move?" Shadow asked. "Yeah. You do." Knuckles replied. "I'll take you guys. Just give me a minute." Tails said, getting up and grabbing his keys off the wall. "You sure you feel up to driving right away?" Sonic asked. Tails nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little headache." Tails said. Reluctantly, Shadow and Knuckles began stirring and in a minute, they were heading to the door. "Can we stop and get some aspirin or something? My head is killing me."

"I already planned on it." Tails said as the three walked out the door. "We'll be back." He said as he walked out to his car. Sonic laughed. "Either he's fine, or he's hiding a pretty big hangover." Sonic said as he started to get ready himself. _Nice to hear her voice. Kinda odd her calling before the wedding._ He thought as he went into the hall and opened the closet where he'd hung his suit when he came over a few days before. _I thought we weren't supposed to see or talk to each other until we actually go through with it._ He grabbed his suit and went into the bathroom and hung it up on another hook behind the door and began to strip when he saw the puddle of vomit still on the floor.

There was still a slight smell and Sonic reached over and flicked the switch for the exhaust fan and turned it on. "That's gotta go." He said as he walked out and into the kitchen. He wanted to clean it up not only because it was just disgusting and he was afraid he might step in it, but because he was partially responsible for it being there. Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed the broom and the large standing dustpan and started cleaning it up.

It was messy, but he managed to sweep a good amount of it up and dump it in the bowl, flushed, then repeated until the bulk of it was gone. Then it was a matter of grabbing some cleaner and quickly going over the spot. He managed to get it cleaned up and he was in the shower in less than ten minutes.

He finished and stepped out and dried off completely, then reached over to start putting his suit on when he drew his hand back. _No. I'll do it when I get there._ He thought as he started putting his clothes back on. _Don't want to get it dirty. God knows what she'll do to me if that happens._

Sonic walked back into the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee to help sober him up and Tails pulled into the driveway, Shadow and Knuckles in tow. Sonic noticed Shadow was still feeling the effects of last night since he was having a hard time dealing with the sun. But at least they were all wearing their suits. They matched the color scheme of Sonic's, red tie, black vest, pants and white shirt; and they all looked good, but Shadow managed to pull it off a bit better than the four of them since it was in his natural color.

They all walked in and Shadow sat back down in the exact same spot and laid his head against the back of the couch. It was just like he never left. "Jeez. You're really feeling it, aren't ya?" Tails asked as Knuckles sat down in the recliner. Shadow nodded. "This is why I don't drink very much." He said slowly.

"I think this is why we all don't drink very much." Sonic said. He had drank his share of beer before, but that was because in Metropolis there was no water or soda for him to drink and he had no choice; but he had never drank enough to get drunk like he had last night.

"You're not ready?" Tails asked Sonic.

"I did take a shower, but I'm gonna change when we get there." He said. "Don't want to take a chance of getting the suit dirty."

Tails nodded. "We still have a little under... two hours. I'll hop in and I guess we can head over. Unless you wanted to take one Knuckles." Tails said. "That'd be nice." He said. "Shadow?" Tails asked. Shadow shook his head yes. "Guess I better get to it." Tails said, walking back to the bathroom. Knuckles laughed. "Now I gotta take this damn thing off and put it back on." He muttered. "Why the hell didn't I think about getting a shower in?" He asked himself. "Because you're a genius." Shadow popped off.

After Tails, Knuckles and Shadow finished up, they were finally ready; they even had an hour to spare. Sonic grabbed his bag and threw it in the car, making sure to grab one of his pills out and stick it in his pocket in case he needed it and they were off. They all piled into Tails' car and headed off, rock music coming from the radio.

"Nervous? Tails asked as they drove back to Sonic's. "Eh, a little." He said. "I'd be lying if I said no. But I just want to get it over with."

"I guess now you'll be tied down." Tails said. Shadow and Knuckles were in the back, heads lying against the head rests. They were still trying to get over their own hangovers, but Sonic knew them well and when it was show time, they'd come around at the last minute. "Tied down?" Sonic said, looking over at Tails. "We've been living together for three years. We might as well have been married this whole time. Now we'll have a piece of paper that says we are." Sonic said.

"That doesn't make sense. You need a license to hunt, fish, drive, and own a gun. I'm pretty sure a piece of paper's not gonna render you unable to do any of those things." Tails said. He slowed down to make a turn. "And what happens if you get married and get the license and it gets ripped or destroyed? You're not married until you get another one?" Tails said.

After a minute, Sonic turned to Tails and said, "So when are you and Cream gonna tie the knot?" From under the fur on his face, Sonic noticed it turned beet red and he giggled. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if I'll ever get married." Tails said. He loved getting Tails into these kinds of conversations and it really help at that moment to relieve the nervousness.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into Sonic's driveway and Tails shut the car off and proceeded to wake Knuckles and Shadow up. Cream saw them pull up and she came out to greet them. She was wearing a nice purple dress, flowing in the wind as she walked up to Sonic. "Hey Cream." He said to her. She looked in the back of the car and saw Tails trying to deal with Knuckles and Shadow. "What's wrong with them?" She asked.

Sonic laughed. "They had a little too much last night." He said. She shook her head. "You boys... Anyway, Sally still wants to wait until the wedding gets underway to see you so she wants you to wait in the back room." She said. Sonic nodded; understandable to keep tradition until it was time. "Is there a TV in there?" He asked Cream. She nodded. "She told me you'd ask that."

Sonic went around to the back of the car and retrieved his bag and his suit and before he went inside he poked his head through the back window. Shadow and Knuckles were still passed out and Sonic simply tapped Knuckles on the shoulder and said, "Hey Shads."

Knuckles rose up, looking around angrily. "I told you not to call me that." He said, glaring at Sonic. "You should've woken up then." Sonic said and walked into the house. Knuckles reached over and poked Shadow on the shoulder. "Hey, Shads." Knuckles said. Just like Knuckles, he woke up quickly. "Don't call me that." He said, rubbing his eyes.

Sonic walked inside, Cream following close behind him to make sure he and Sally didn't see each other until it was time. Before he went to his 'room', he stopped and took a look outside at the setup. Sally wanted a small, simple wedding and that's how it was setup; there were only ten chairs set up, a small table with food and the cake, which was covered to keep bugs away from it. There was a small stereo and a table with their wedding gifts as well, and the altar, which was a wooden trellis curved at the top, covered in red and white roses and a carpet leading from the door to said altar. It was simple and that's what she wanted. "Not bad." Sonic said as he headed off to his 'room'.

"I'll let her know you're here." Cream said. "Thanks." Sonic said and she shut the door and left him alone. The room he was in was used mainly as a guest bedroom, but went mainly unused since they hardly ever had guests. Sonic locked the door, sat on the bed, turned on the TV and started getting ready. He completely stripped except for his boxers and began to put the suit on. It got a little stifling when he got to the vest since his quills were pressed down, but he'd just have to suffer with it until he could change. He tied the tie, which proved to be a little difficult and threw the jacket on. As he began to lace up the shoes that came with it, there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" Sonic called out as he laced up the final shoe. "It's me." Tails voice came from the other side of the door. Sonic went over and unlocked it and making sure he was dressed, walked inside. "Damn." He said, getting his first look at Sonic. "Nice."

"That's what I thought when I picked it out." He said, sitting back down and tying up the untied shoe. "Whatcha need?" Sonic asked. "Cream wanted me to tell you were going in about twenty." He said. "Still not nervous?" Tails asked.

Sonic shook his head. "I'm keeping it under control." Sonic said. "Have you seen her yet?" Sonic asked, sitting down on the bed. "No. She's still in your room. Guess she's getting ready." Tails said, sitting down beside Sonic.

Tails let out a sigh. "Sonic?" Tails asked. "Yeah?" Sonic replied. "Thanks for making me the best man." Tails said. Sonic put an arm around Tails. "No problem." Sonic said. In truth, Tails hadn't been his first choice. It wasn't because he didn't want Tails to be his best man; Sonic didn't want it to seem like he was playing favorites. He asked Knuckles, but Knuckles declined. Then he asked Shadow, who did the same thing as Knuckles. Deep down, Sonic figured they were saying no since they both knew how close he and Tails were to each other, but he kept it to himself.

They talked for a few more minutes, then Cream came looking for Tails and he left Sonic alone. Sonic flicked the TV on, but he really couldn't settle in and watch it. He was just too nervous. He turned it off and laid it on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves. Meditation. It was something he did a long time ago, something to calm him down when he was on a mission and he was feeling overwhelmed. It really came in handy at night when he was alone. It kept his mind from racing around and picturing God knows what.

His hands were shaking and he had his little 'friend' in his coat pocket just in case. He closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly, in and out, in and out. He could feel his pulse throughout his body and it was beating pretty fast, but it began slowing down which was a relief. *Knock-knock*

The sudden noise startled Sonic and his eyes shot open. "W-what?" He said, getting up and unlocking the door. He poked his head out and saw Cream standing in front of him. "Are you ready?" She asked. Sonic let out a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Follow me."

Sonic was surprised at how professional she had been through the entire thing. She was organized and well-mannered, two traits which stuck out in Sonic's mind. "Hold on." He said, going back into the room. He opened the bag and searched for the vows he had taken with him. He found them and stuck them in his pocket and followed Cream outside.

When she opened the sliding glass door, Tails, Shadow and Knuckles were standing at the altar, along with a few of Sally's friends, and she disappeared back in the house again. Sonic greeted them, then walked over to the altar. "Damn man. Looking good." Knuckles said. Shadow nodded. "I said the same thing." Tails chimed in.

"So," Knuckles said. "You're still a free man. Still time to run." He joked. Sonic shook his head. "I don't think that's happening." He said.

"Yeah. The only thing stopping this wedding is if he dropped dead." Shadow said. A chill ran down Sonic's spine. "Y-yeah." He said nervously.

Cream came out the door and closed it and pointed over to Knuckles. "Looks like its time." He said and wandered off into the house, while Shadow sat down. "Where's he going?" Sonic whispered in Tails ear. "Since there's no one to give Sally away, Knuckles stepped in and filled in." He replied.

"Kinda odd, don't you think?" Sonic asked Tails. The fox nodded. "Well, she said Sally asked four people before him and he was the only one that agreed to it. Besides, have you ever heard of a wedding where no one gave the bride away?"

Sonic nodded. "Makes sense." He said.

There was a kid standing over by the radio that was on the table and Cream walked over to him, Sonic figured he belonged to one of Sally's friends and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and she walked back over to the door and poked her head in and when she drew it back out, she nodded over at the kid and he pressed a button on the radio.

The 'Wedding March' started up and everyone sat down and waited for Sally to walk out. Sonic's pulse increased and he began to feel shaky and nervous. _God,_ he closed his eyes and silently prayed in his head, _I know I'm asking a lot, but if I'm going to have one of those damn bouts of pain right now, I'm asking you if you can to hold it off until after this is over. If it's gonna happen, I can't stop you and I know I deserve it for what I've done, but if you can keep it from happening until this is over, that's all I ask._

When he opened them, as if it was planned, the glass door slid open and Sally walked out. The few people that were gathered there stood as she walked out, accompanied by Knuckles around his arm. "Wow." Sonic said silently. Her dress was amazing. It was more of an evening gown, white, with the bottom slightly bowing out and a silver pattern which shined when the light hit it at just the right angle. She was holding a bouquet of different colored flowers, reds and blues with a singe white rose in the center. Their eyes met and Sonic's heart sped up. _Please God, let me make it through this._

Sally and Knuckles walked slowly toward the altar and when they reached it, Knuckles let go of her and he looked at Sonic and said a silent, "Congratulations.", then sat down by Shadow.

Sonic turned to her and took her hand as the music stopped. "You look beautiful." He mouthed. She was smiling as well and she simply nodded.

The minister, who had appeared as Sally made her way to the altar, bible in hand, looked out at the small gathering of people.

"You may be seated." He said, and they sat in unison, then he turned to Sally and Sonic and began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in Holy Matrimony. Marriage is a sacred tradition and should not be entered lightly; I ask now if anyone here objects to this wedding, let them speak now or forever hold your peace." No one said a word.

The minister went on, giving a small speech about the sacred institute of marriage and all that good stuff, and then he turned to Sally and Sonic. "I understand that you two have written your own vows." He said. They both nodded. He held out a hand and said, "Proceed."

Cream stood up and handed her a single piece of paper. "Sonic," She began. "When we met seven years ago, I didn't know that we'd be taking this step together. But I love you and I'm willing to walk with you as far as we can go and I will walk with you until that journey ends." She folded the piece of paper up and handed it back to Cream. It was a little shorter than he thought it would be, but she managed to say a lot more to him in those two sentences than most people could.

Now it was his turn. Sonic reached into his pocket and pulled his out, which he had trimmed down from the original three pages. His hands were shaking and he almost dropped it, but managed to steady his hands and began reading.

"Sally, I love you more than anything in this world. If not for you, I don't know where I'd be in my life. I know I've done things that would've driven anyone else away long ago, but you stayed by my side even when I wasn't by yours. I look at you and even now, at this moment, I'm still trying to figure out what I've done to deserve you, your love, you're understanding. I know every second I'm with you is one second that I know I've spent well. When I'm sick, you make me feel better. When I'm sad, you make me happy. I love you." Sonic smiled and folded the paper back up and stuck it back in his pocket.

The minister nodded and he continued with the ceremony. "Turn toward each other." They did.

"The rings?" The minister asked. Tails stepped forward and produced them, each in their own box and Sonic and Sally took one each.

Sonic opened the box and took the ring out. It was a beautiful ring, gold with a small diamond in the setting. It cost him over $500 bucks but she was worth it. He slipped the ring on her finger. "Now repeat after me: I, Sonic,"

"I, Sonic,"

"Do solemnly swear,"

"Do solemnly swear,"

"To take this woman as your lawful wedded wife,"

"To take this woman as my lawful wedded wife,"

"In sickness and in health,"

"In sickness and in health,"

"As long as you both shall live."

"As long as we both shall live."

Sonic placed the ring on her finger, then it was her turn. "Sally, repeat after me." She nodded.

"I Sally,"

"I Sally,"

"Do solemnly swear,"

"Do solemnly swear,"

"To take this man as your lawful wedded husband,"

"To take this man as my lawful wedded husband,"

"In sickness and in health,"

"In sickness and in health,"

"As long as you both shall live."

"As long as we both shall live." Sally opened the box and took out the one for Sonic. It was a simple gold ring and slipped it on his finger.

"Ladies and Gentleman, what God hath brought together let no man tear apart. I present to you, Mr. & Mrs. Acorn. You may now kiss the bride."

Sonic and Sally moved close together and gently kissed, their first as husband and wife. Everyone applauded and Sonic's knees finally began to stop shaking. "I love you, Sonic." Sally said. "I love you too." Sonic replied as they kissed one final time, then turned to everybody. Applause broke out from the small group of onlookers and the newlywed couple walked down from the altar.

Cream walked over to them. "Congratulations." She said. "Thanks Cream." Sally said. "Yeah. I don't think we could've done this without you." Sonic said. "Thank you. Now, the last thing you need is your picture." She said, going over to her purse and grabbing a camera. "Can you stand back up on the altar?" She asked. Sonic and Sally nodded and they stood back in their spots and Cream readied the camera. "Ready?" Cream asked.

They nodded again and just as she hit the button, they kissed. Cream took one more of them, this time both of them were looking at the camera. Then she took one of Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Tails and Shadow. "That should do it." Cream said. She started to put the camera away when Sonic stopped her. "What're you doing?" He asked.

Cream looked at him. "We need one with you." Sonic said. She smiled, thrilled and honored that they would include her and asked one of Sally's girlfriends to take one and her, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Sally and Sonic stood together and the woman took it, along with another one for good measure.

Once that was don e, they walked over to the table with the food and the cake (is a lie; had to stick that in. Sorry.) was sitting. The food took up an entire table, which was a picnic table and everyone dug in. There were the standard Chili-Dogs, but also other things to eat as well. Everyone ate, then it was time to cut the cake. Since it was outside, it was all covered and the cake had a domed metal lid over it, which stood about a foot high. Cream carefully removed it and Sonic gasped. It was a beautiful three-tiered cake. The first layer was blue, which represented Sonic, the second was red. Sally's favorite color, and the top layer was purple to symbolize their marriage.

"Wow." Sonic said. Sally grabbed the knife and cut into the blue layer and cut a piece for herself, then she cut a piece of the red for Sonic. Then, they locked arms and ate at the same time, Sally eating the blue piece, Sonic eating the red. When they pulled away from each other, Sonic went to set his piece down, then suddenly shoved it in her face. Everyone laughed and she got even, shoving her piece in his face. Everyone laughed, and once the bride and groom had theirs, everyone else dug it.

The cake had been eaten finished off, save for the top layer, which had been stored in their freezer, and the gifts had been unwrapped. They were all wonderful gifts, but the one that stood out the most was the one Tails had slipped to Sonic secretly. It was an envelope that said: From Tails, Cream, Sonic and Shadow. He made sure no one was watching when he handed it off to Sonic and when he handed it to Sonic, he said quietly, "Open it when you and Sally are alone." Sonic didn't know what to say, but Tails just smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

The party wound down around six that evening. Cream, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow hung around until seven, but left, citing they all wanted the newlywed couple to have some privacy and enjoy the rest of the night together. Sally shut the door and when she turned around, she saw him going out the back door. "Where are you going?" She asked. "I'll be right back." He said.

Sonic came back in a few seconds later, carrying the radio that was outside and set it on the breakfast bar in the dining room and plugged it in. Once that was done, he walked into their bedroom. "What're you doing?" Sally asked, wondering what he was up to.

He came back a minute later, his hand behind his back, smile on his face. "Close your eyes." He said. She did and she heard strange clicking noises, then nothing. "Okay. Open them." He said. Sally looked around but didn't notice anything different. "Am I missing something here?" She asked.

"Well," Sonic said, "I thought we'd have our first dance." He said, holding out his hand to her. She smiled and walked over, taking his hand and he pulled her close. "I thought you hated dancing." Sally said. She tried to get him to on more than one occasion, but it just wasn't his sort of thing. "Well in this case I made an exception." Sonic said, reaching over and hitting the play button and a few seconds later, the music started to play. (Faithfully by Journey, lyrics © Journey & Steve Perry)

Faithfully

Highway run

Into the midnight sun

Wheels go round and round

In my mind

Restless hearts

Sleep alone tonight

Sending all my love

Along the wire

They say that the road ain't no place to start a family

Right down the line it's been you and me

And loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be

Oh girl

You stand by me

Faithfully

Circus life

Under the big top world

We all need the clowns

To make us laugh

Through space and time

Always another show

Wondering where I am

Lost without you

And being apart ain't easy on this love affair

Two strangers learn to fall in love again

I get the joy of rediscovering you

Oh girl

You stand, by me

I'm forever yours

Faithfully

When it was finished, they stood in the middle of the dining room embraced together for a minute, then they broke apart. "Shall we break open the bottle of champagne?" She asked. Sonic nodded and she grabbed the bottle of champagne while he grabbed two glasses. He had planned ahead and had her get a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, since he wasn't supposed to have alcohol. When she asked why, he said he wanted to remember their wedding day with a sober memory.

They went back to the living room and sat down, Sally setting the glasses on the table. She popped the cork and filled each glass halfway and she handed one to Sonic and took one for herself. Just like the cake, they locked arms and took a long drink, then shared another kiss. "So how do you feel, Mr. Acorn?" Sally asked.

Having her last name hit his ears wrong, but he had already begun to accept it. "Perfectly fine. How about you, Mrs. Acorn?"

"Like the luckiest girl in the world." She said, taking another sip from her glass. "Oh, I almost forgot." Sonic said, setting his glass down and reaching into his jacket pocket. "Tails gave me this and told me to open it when we were alone." He said, pulling the envelope out. When Tails handed it to him earlier, Sonic didn't see it then, but he noticed the envelope was a little bigger than a normal envelope. "What do you think is it?" Sally asked.

Sonic stuck his finger underneath the small opening under the flap where the glue didn't stick and he ran his finger across the length of it, ripping it open. Once it was open and he parted it, he took a look inside. "It looks like... a note?" It was dim and he reached over and turned on the lamp beside the couch. He took out a singe piece of paper and another smaller envelope.

"What the..." Sonic trailed off as he opened the paper. _A letter? _"What's it say?" Sally asked, eager to know what it said.

"To Sonic and Sally," Sonic said as he started reading out loud. "We know we gave you your wedding gifts already, but we didn't wanted you two to open this one while you were alone. Cream, Knuckles, Shadow and myself pooled some of our money together and got you a little something. Inside the envelope, you'll find $250 and a room key that'll get you a six-day, seven-night stay at the West Mobius Casino and Hotel. Just hand them the room key when you check in.

Your friends, Tails, Cream, Knuckles and Shadow."

Sonic and Sally looked at each other in disbelief and Sally took the smaller envelope and opened it. Inside was the cash and room key, just like it said in the letter. "I can't believe..." Sally trailed off, her eyes welling up from the surprise. Sonic laughed. _I guess that's why they didn't give it to us in person. _Sonic thought. If they had, Sonic and Sally wouldn't have accepted it. They would've felt weird about it, taking something so lavish. Since they were given it like this, there wouldn't be that awkward 'I can't, it's too expensive' routine.

"They didn't have to do this." Sonic said. "I don't even want to know how they managed to get the money together, let alone the room." It wasn't like their friends had money put away for something like this. Sonic and Sally could afford something like this since they had a pretty padded bank account. Together, her and Sonic had close to $12,000 together; Sally had close to $8000 from her parents that had been left to her upon her death and Sonic had just over $4000 left from his novels and the royalty checks that trickled in every now and then. But even though they had that kind of cash, they didn't flaunt it around. They wore sensible clothes, had nice, but not expensive things, affordable car and a moderately sized three bedroom house.

"We're gonna have to do something like this for them one day." Sally said. "Yeah." Sonic nodded. "Since we have it, you want to go ahead and go?" Sonic asked. Sally nodded. "Might as well. I'd hate to waste something like that." She said. They nodded and both changed out of their wedding clothes and began packing. In ten minutes, they were both ready and they tossed their bags in the car, locked the house and headed off to the casino.

An Hour Later

Sally pulled into the parking lot of the casino and they were both awestruck. The casino was inside a good sized two story building and the hotel part was in a five story building, the top and corners of both buildings had red and blue neon running around and down the length of it. "Wow." Sonic said as she drove around looking for a parking spot. She found one in a few minutes, parked the car and shut the engine off. They both got out and took it all in. "How much do you think one of those rooms goes for?" Sally asked. "Can't be cheap." Sonic said.

Sally popped the trunk and Sonic got their bags out of the trunk and while his back was turned, a guy in a golf cart drove up that had the words 'Courtesy Shuttle' stenciled on the side. "Evening folks. Need a lift?" He asked. "Sure. Thanks." Sally nodded. "Hotel or casino?" He asked. "Hotel." Sally said as they climbed on and the driver drove up to the front doors of the hotel and let them off. "You folks have a good one." He said and drove off. Sonic and Sally walked inside and the view was breathtaking.

The front desk was directly in front of the doors about twenty feet away. The room branched off to two separate hallways, which led to the first floor rooms and elevators. A strip of red carpet led up to the front desk and branched off, going the entire length of both hallways; the walls were a lovely black and white marble with various plants along the walls. "Looks a hell of a lot different today than it used to." Sonic said as they walked up to the front desk. The hotel and casino had been a front for Robotnik's schemes years before and when he was defeated, it became a legitimate business. The casino was renovated, but the owners decided to leave the hotel as it was, except they removed all traces of Robotnik's presence from it.

There was a man working behind the desk that night and he greeted Sonic and Sally with a warm smile. "Good evening." He said. "Checking in?" He asked. "Yes." Sally nodded. "All right then. Do you have a reservation?" He asked. Sally reached in her pocket and pulled the key out. "Sort of." She said, handing the clerk the room key. He took it and swiped it through the computer; a few faint beeps followed, then two louder beeps followed the quiet ones. "Ah, yes. Acorn, right?" The clerk asked, checking the computer screen.

"Yes." Sally replied. "We have your room on file." He handed the card back to Sally then reached over and slapped a bell that was on the counter. *Ding-ding* "Service!" He called out. A few seconds later, a bellboy walked up to them pushing a baggage cart; the clerk behind the desk pointed at Sonic and Sally and the bellboy grabbed their luggage and put it on the cart. "You'll be on the forth floor, room 223... Honeymoon suite?" He grinned. "Congratulations." He said with a smile. "Thank you." Sally said. Sonic nodded and they along with the bellboy headed off to the elevators.

The three took the elevator up to the forth floor and they walked down to their room, which was pretty far down the hall. "You guys really did a lot with the place." Sonic said as they walked down the hall. "Thank you, sir." The bellboy said. "The new owners made sure that there wasn't a trace of him left." The bellboy said. When they got to their room, Sally took the room key out of her pocket and swiped it in the slot and when the door unlocked, they were shocked at what they saw. King size bed, large flat screen TV with a couch facing the set. A mini-fridge sat off in one corner of the room and a bar in front of it; it was a small bar, about five feet long which came up to Sonic's chest. The room itself was quite large, about twice the size of a standard hotel room.

"They really didn't have to do this." Sonic said as they walked in further. The walls were a peach color and the carpet was off white and in pristine condition. The bellboy brought their bags into the room and sat them down on the bed. "The remote for the TV is on the nightstand and if you need anything, just dial 0 and we'll do what we can to make your stay more enjoyable." The bellboy said. Sally slipped him a ten and he smiled, nodded and left the room, Sally locking the door behind him. Sonic went over and sat on the bed and Sally went into the bathroom. The sheets felt like silk and they were cool to the touch. It was an incredible gift and he didn't know if he could ever repay them for their kindness. "Sonic!" Sally called out.

"What?" He said as he came through the door; he saw why she had called him. The bathroom was just as nice as the rest of the room. The tub was big enough for two and was sunken into the floor and the shower was just as big, both had small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and other essentials. On the counter were little soaps, toothpaste and individually wrapped toothbrushes along with two plastic glasses, also wrapped in protective plastic. "I don't even want to know how much they put down on this." Sally said, walking out of the bathroom. "But you know what, let's just enjoy it now and figure out how to return the favor later." He said.

Sonic shut the light off and walked out, going over to the fridge and opening it up out of curiosity. It was filled with a variety of sodas, beer and champagne; small candy bars and tiny bags of nuts and probably all ridiculously priced. He didn't even want to touch one for fear of setting off some kind of alarm and getting charged for it by accident. He shut the fridge and sat down on the bed next to Sally. "You're right." She said. "There's not much point in sitting here worrying about it." She giggled and moved closer to him. "Now, where did we leave off?" She said, grinning and leaning in, giving him a small kiss.

"If I remember right," he said, returning the gesture, "we were somewhere around here." They began making out, hands and tongues running wild. When they broke a few minutes later, Sally whispered in his ear, "I've got an idea. Why don't you see if you can find a movie while I go slip into something a little more... comfortable." She said quietly, biting his ear lightly; she stood up and grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom to change.

Sonic smiled and stripped down completely and folded his clothes neatly and laid them in a chair, then crawled into bed. The sheets felt cool against his skin. _Oh, we have got to get some of these._ He thought. Sonic picked the remote up off the nightstand, but it was attached to a long chord, which either kept people from stealing it, or knocking it off the nightstand during the night.

Sonic scrolled through the list on the TV, which were all high-end adult movies. These were the kind that had a plot, but with people that could halfway act instead of just screw. He was still scrolling through the list when she came out and when he noticed her; his jaw almost hit the floor. She was wearing a nightie, one that he hadn't seen before. It was black lace, all see through with a small band of red fur running across the top around her breasts and along the bottom. "Holy hell." Sonic said breathlessly and she walked over to the bed and slipped in, snuggling up to him and throwing one leg over his.

"When did you get that?" He asked. *Hee* "I picked this up when Cream and me were picking up the wedding stuff." She said. "I thought you might like it." She said. "Like it, I might have to put my peep in a sling." He joked. She laughed and looked at the TV. "Anything good?"

"I don't know. From the looks of it, these are those high-class porno movies. I was thinking about choosing one at random." He said. She leaned in and kissed him. *Hmm-hmm* "I don't think we'll be watching it much." She said. _To hell with this. Sonic thought and scrolled up to the top and selected the most watched one. He accepted the charges and when the movie started, Sonic and Sally began watching it until the couple on screen started going at it, which was their cue to start._

_A/N: While I was writing this chapter, I knew I wanted to include Sonic and Sally having their first dance as a married couple. I didn't put it in during the wedding since I feel that a newlywed couple should have their first dance together alone and it should be between them. As I was looking through the songs I have on my computer, Journey's 'Faithfully' kept standing out in my mind. It made sense because to me, it represented their love for each other, especially the final verse. And if you haven't heard that song, give it a shot. Thanks for reading this, and feel free to leave a review._


	29. Chapter 29: Saying Goodbye

Chapter 29

Saying Goodbye- Rated T

I would've had this up sooner, but other stuff got in the way. Anyway, enjoy and feel free to review.

Sonic and Sally lay in each others arms, breathing heavily and satisfied like they always were. She had a smile on her face and was gently nuzzling his neck and he was praying his heart wouldn't decide to suddenly freak out. As the movie they ordered went off, a message from the hotel popped up on the TV, thanking them for placing their order. *Hee* "Thank you." Sally said, giggling.

"No problem." Sonic said, cupping her breast gently and kissing her. "So what do you want to do now?" Sonic asked. _Please don't say you want to go again._ He thought. He wasn't sure if he could handle another round. "Want to go down and check out the casino?" Sonic suggested.

"Can we get something to eat first?" Sally asked. "I'm a little hungry after that." She said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. "Mmm." She moaned as she almost lost her balance but managed to catch herself. Sonic watched as she walked to the bathroom, eying her as she rounded the corner. He looked over and again, he saw the tell-tale spot that she had finished and he smiled, satisfied she had been satisfied. While she was in the shower, Sonic sat up on the side of the bed and flicked the light on; he reached over and grabbed his phone. _I wonder if Tails is up? _Sonic wondered. It was a little after nine and he wanted to thank him for the gift. Sonic dialed his number and waited. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

"Hello?" Tails said as soon as their phones connected. "Hey Tails. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Sonic asked. "Nah. Just getting ready for bed. What's up?"

"I just called to thank you and Cream for the little gift you guys gave me and Sal." Sonic said. "Hey, no problem. We were all wondering what to get you and decided why not get something nice for you guys." Tails said.

"Hey, me and Sal are fixing to go down and get something to eat. I just figured I'd call and say thanks."

"No problem." Tails said.

"Alright. Talk to you later." Sonic said. Tails hung up and Sonic set the phone down and walked into the bathroom. The shower doors were clear but he couldn't see anything because it was steamed up. He was still naked and opened the door and stepped in.

They both had more fun that first night than they had in the last month. They took a hundred each from the five hundred they'd been given and tried their hand at Blackjack. After an hour of playing, they managed to win. It was only ten bucks, but they were happy.

The second day was spent mostly in their room, watching TV, then going down and catching the shows that the hotel put on every night. It varied from the standard classic rock band on one night, to a comedian another night and so on. On the fifth night, they decided to stay in and take a break. "How much did they say it was gonna be?" Sally asked as Sonic hung the phone up. They had decided to order room service that night instead of going down to the buffet or the restaurant and deal with the crowds. The buffet was always packed, but the restaurant was a little more tame and was quiet once you were seated, but it took almost an hour to get a table.

"He said it be about sixty bucks." Sonic said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Sixty!" Sally said in disbelief. "I know." Sonic said. "I'd rather go to a burger joint or som-" Sonic stopped mid-sentence and bolted upright.

"Sonic?" Sally asked, wondering what made him jump like that. It was the moment he'd been dreading. The chest pain had returned and it was bad. "Get... my... bag." He said, struggling to speak through the pain. "What's wrong?" Sally asked, panic welling up in her. "Just... get the... bag!" He said again. It felt like someone was reaching into his chest and squeezing his heart as hard as they could. His left arm was numb and he was dizzy. _Not again! _Sally thought as she jumped up and went around to his side of the bed; she grabbed his bag and rummaged through it.

"It's the bottle... with the... red pi... pi... pills." He stuttered. His breathing was beginning to slow down and it was hard for him to take a breath. Sally pawed through his clothes and found the bottle and opened it.Sally cracked the bottle open and held one out to him, and he reached out and took it. Even with him unable to use his left arm at the moment and his right arm beginning to mess up, he managed to pop it in his mouth but it hung up in the back of his throat.

"Wa... wa..." He couldn't speak and mimed taking a drink of water and Sally got up and went to the mini-fridge and grabbed a can of soda, and rushed back over to him. She cracked it open and held it up to his mouth and he took a drink, a little running down the side of his mouth. Sally started to lose it as she watched him have another heart attack in front of him. Fortunately, a minute later the pill took effect and the pain began to ebb; unlike the last time, which took twice as long to work as it was supposed to, this one held the quickest time.

"Are you OK? What happened?" Sally asked, tears streaming down her face. As the pain subsided and he began breathing again, his worst fear came true. He was caught and he would have to tell her now. "Sonic?" Sally said. "Are you OK?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said, giving her a smile. "C'mon. We need to get you to the hospital." She said, getting up and pulling on his shoulder. "Don't have to." Sonic said without budging. Sally let go of his arm and turned around. "What the hell're you talking about?" She asked. "Having pain like that usually means you need to see a doctor."

Sonic wiped the sweat from his forehead. "No. Sit down. I... have to tell you something." He said. She was still worried and wanted to drag him out of the room and force him to go, but something told her to sit, which she did. "What is it?" Sally asked. He looked her straight in the eyes. "This... isn't easy for me to tell you." Sonic began. "I don't even know where to begin." He took a deep breath and finally, after holding the truth from her for so long, told her everything.

"That's pretty much it... I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am for keeping that from you." He said; he turned to look at her, and she had no expression on her face, it was blank. Sally couldn't believe what she had just heard. _The Doctor said my heart's failing _and _There's nothing they can do for it._ She kept hearing those words running through her head over and over again. "I'm sor-" He stopped as she fell into him and buried her head in his shoulder and cried, something that had become second nature to the both of them a long time ago.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She asked through pained sobs. Sonic felt himself begin to lose hold of his emotions as well. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to have one moment where *sniff* you were happy and didn't have to deal with anything like this *sob*." He said, starting to cry along with her. They fell into each other's arms and wept for a couple of hours until each fell asleep.

The following morning wasn't the most pleasant either had faced. They wanted to say something, but neither could find the words. The sorrow was thick in the air as they both dressed and began to fully shake off the past nights slumber. "Think we should get out of here?" Sonic asked, the first one to speak that morning. Sally didn't reply, instead offering a nod. They gathered the clothes they had tossed casually on one of the chairs and stuck them back in their suitcases. "Looks good." Sonic said and they shut the lights off and left, locking the door behind them.

It was a quiet walk down the hall to the elevator, a quiet ride down the five stories to the ground floor and a quiet walk to the front desk to check out. The clerk behind the desk saw them coming and gave them a big smile, something they both just loathed at the moment. "Good morning." She said cheerfully. "Checking out?"

Sonic nodded and he handed her their room key and swiped it through the computer. "Okay, your final charges are $49.99." She said with that cheerful, sickening smile. Sally took her credit card out and handed it to her and she ran that through the machine. It beeped a couple of times and the clerk handed the card back to Sally. "Okay. Thanks for staying with us and we hope to see you again."

"Thanks." Sonic said half-heartedly; Sally just nodded and faked a smile. They went out to the front and had the valet bring their car around, which she described for him. "Sure thing ma'am." He said with a smile and radioed for someone to bring it around. _Oh God, just make it stop._ Sally thought. Ironically, Sonic thought the same thing. They both just wanted to get home and be alone. When they brought the car around, Sonic and Sally both threw their suitcases into the back, quickly tipped the valet a $5 and drove off. The drive home was made in silence.

When they pulled in, Sally shut the car off and undid her seatbelt. "I'm gonna go in and take a nap." She said. "Okay." Sonic replied, neither in the mood to do much talking. She got out and went in, flicked on the A/C and went straight back to their room. Sonic took the bags out of the back and let them fall on the floor where he dropped them. He went in and laid down on the couch and flicked the TV on.

Since it was just after twelve that afternoon, there wasn't much on. "Fuck." Sonic said, turning the TV off and tossing the remote down on the coffee table. It didn't matter anyway. He wouldn't have been able to watch it even if there was anything good on anyway. _Maybe I should go in and check on her._ He thought. He got up and went over to the bedroom door and laid a hand on the knob. As he turned it and opened the door, Sally was lying in the middle of the bed, her back turned to the door. She was crying softly. God how he hated seeing her like this. "Sal?" He said softly as he walked into their bedroom. She didn't even bother to turn over.

He walked over and sat down and put a hand on her. She turned over and sat up, tears running freely down her face. She fell into him and he held her in his arms. "I don't want to lose you. I'm not ready yet." She sobbed. "I know." He said softly, her tears soaking into his shirt. "Hey." He whispered, grabbing her chin and lifting her gaze to his. "It'll be okay." He said, wiping the tears away. "I'm not gone yet." He smiled and she let out a laugh in reaction. "I'm still here and I'm going to be here for a long time. So how about we stop this whole crying, feeling sad thing and just forget about it?" He said.

When she was feeling down, Sonic never had to say very much, and like always, she felt better. "I'm sorry." She said. "It's ok." He replied, gently giving her a kiss.

Things had calmed down and they both managed to move past it. They both managed to fall into some sense of normalcy and now neither brought it up. But of course, it was always in the back of both of their minds. But he kept taking those pills, clearing the fluid that kept building up in his body. One night, he had a bout with it and quickly took one of his pills, which managed to clear it with ease. After a few minutes, she turned to him and asked, "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah. You go ahead and go back to sleep." He said, getting up and going over to the door. "Alright." She said, laying back down. "If you need me, just call me." She said. He walked out and went into the living room and turned the TV on. He wasn't sure why, but he liked to be alone after having one of his bouts. Sally asked him about it, and he couldn't give her an explanation why. He just said he did. She nodded and accepted that.

One Month Later

It was August and they had both settled nicely into married life. Of course, it was just like it had been before, only now they had a piece of paper that said they were married. And now that Sonic had told Sally the truth, she began to deal with it, and accepted it. It wasn't easy, but neither of them saw the point of being sad about something neither of them could change. They tried to live life to the fullest and enjoy what time they had left together, but it wasn't easy. The excess liquid had began backing up in him more often now, which made something as simple as walking into a marathon. Now that the truth was out, he finally went back to see Dr. Anderson under Sally's urging, which wasn't very hard. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do for Sonic but examine him and give him a stronger water pill. Sonic thanked him and after that visit, he decided that since nothing further could be done, he didn't want anything more to do with Doctors unless he was forced to. Sally agreed and again, they went about their lives.

They went out more often. To dinner, a movie or just sitting out back in the field that ran behind their house. They always did that at night when the moon was full. One night, they decided to take in a little outdoor theatre and were sitting out back. Sonic's lungs were finally clear and he could finally walk without having to take a rest every few minutes. That night, they as they lay in the grass looking up at the stars, Sonic reached over and kissed her. On pure response, she kissed him back, which led to a session of heavy petting.

They hadn't been intimate with each other since their honeymoon. Since he had been having problems more frequently, they both decided to take it easy and not cause any extra stress on him. But that day, he had been feeling really good and it would both do them some good.

When he went under her shirt and began to feel around, she stopped him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah. I think I can handle it. Besides," He tapped his pocket. "I've got one with me just in case." She said, giving her a smile. She kissed him again and started to get up when he stopped her. "No. Let's go right here." He said.

She gave him a funny look. "Here? Outside?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "You can't see back here from the road and there's not a house for miles." He said. It was like they were the last two people on earth; they actually had to drive for a few minutes before they saw another house and besides that, he had always wanted to do it outside. Even though she knew they were alone, she looked around and satisfied no one was watching, agreed. Sonic continued where he left off and Sally reached down and began fiddling with his zipper.

Later that night

"Sal!" Sonic called out for her as he woke up with a sudden, sharp pain in his chest. She was dead asleep, but upon hearing her name called out, she woke up in a split second. "What?!" She looked over at Sonic and immediately knew what was happening. Sonic was trying to open the bottle with his pills that controlled the chest pain, but was struggling with the cap from the pain. She quickly grabbed it and opened it for him and put one in his mouth and he chewed it up and swallowed it. It was bitter, but the taste was better than the alternative.

"Ngh!" Sonic yelped as a sudden bolt of pain shot through him. These were the worst. On top of the crushing feeling, it felt like he was being stabbed by a knife that was on fire. Sally held his hand as the pill went through his system, reassuring him that she was there and wasn't going to leave his side. "Ngh!" Sonic yelped again as another bolt shot through him. This time though, his body tensed up and jerked up off the bed a half inch. _Shit!_ Sonic thought as his body began tensing up and his vision began to get blurry. He was cold and sweating as well. "Sal." He said through clenched teeth, struggling to talk through the pain. "What?" She asked. "I lo... I love..."

"Sonic!" Sally yelped as he suddenly went limp and passed out. She reached out and shook him, but he didn't respond; his body shook with every little movement and Sally grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse; nothing. "Oh God!" She cried out, frantically reaching up to his neck. "Please?" She pleaded and felt around his neck; nothing.

Sally reached over to the nightstand on her side of the bed and dialed 911, hit the speakerphone button and tossed it close by and began performing CPR. The phone began ringing and she began compressions, ten at a time, then pinching his nose shut and breathing twice into his mouth. "911, what's your emergency?"

The paramedics arrived a little over five minutes after Sally had called 911. When she unlocked the front door so they could enter, she was out of breath, tired and crying; she had been doing CPR up until the EMT's had arrived. They asked her where Sonic was and instead of telling them, she pointed back to their room.

There were two of them, one pushing a gurney and the other carrying a small vitals monitor in his hand. They rushed back to their bedroom and immediately began looking him over. "Start a line." One said as he began hooking Sonic up to the monitor. "Lips are blue. No breath sounds." The other said, taking a visual inspection. In less than a minute, the EMT had Sonic hooked up and when he flipped the portable monitor on, it powered up, followed by the sound of a long, steady beep. "Flatline." EMT one said. He reached under the gurney and grabbed another machine out from a storage area under the gurney and set it on the bed. Sally recognized it as a small defibrillator.

EMT two began pulling out the large gel pads, placing them on Sonic's chest and EMT one began prepping the defib. Sally was now in tears and she was about ready to lose it as she watched her husband fighting for his life. "Ready." EMT two said, finishing readying Sonic for the shock.

EMT two placed the paddles on Sonic's chest. "Clear!" He shouted and as soon as EMT one was clear, two pressed the buttons on the paddles. The shock went through Sonic, causing his body to jump off the bed a good four inches, finally coming back down on the mattress with a soft thud. The monitor showed a flash of activity from the shock, then continued to display nothing.

"Again." One said. "Charging to 600." Two said. Once it was ready, he shocked Sonic again, his body convulsing and coming back down on the bed. Still nothing. They tried one more time, and after getting nowhere, One looked at Two and said, "Let's take him in." Two nodded and they both picked Sonic up with ease on the gurney and pushed Sonic out of the house. Sally quickly grabbed a shirt, her purse, keys and her phone and followed them out to the ambulance, locking the house up behind her. They loaded Sonic up into the back and Sally tried to climb in the back, but Two stopped her. "Sorry ma'am. You can come, but sit up front."

She nodded and went around to the front and climbed in. Luckily, she could watch Sonic from the front seat as Two worked on him. One climbed in and radioed the hospital that they were coming in. He started the ambulance up and as he put it into gear, he said "Hold on!" as he flipped a U and floored it, the lights and siren flashing as they sped off to the hospital.

Sally watched as Two inserted an I.V. into Sonic's arm and injected some kind of medication into his system and put an oxygen mask on his face with a large blue bulb on one end which he squeezed to force oxygen into Sonic's lungs since he wasn't breathing on his own at the moment. Sally, tears falling from her face and head spinning, reached into her purse and took her phone out and began to send a mass text to the others that simply said: 'Hospital'.

The ambulance pulled up to the hospital in five minutes and they unloaded Sonic from the back of it and rushed him into the ER. He was taken back and Sally told the nurse what had happened, then they began working on him. _Please let him be ok._

They got him hooked up to the monitor and when it showed he was still flat lining, they grabbed the big defib machine and wheeled it over to Sonic's bedside.

"How long's he been down." One of the nurses asked. "About ten minutes." One said, continuing to work the oxygen mask. "Damn." The nurse said softly. That wasn't a good sign.

"Charge to 700." The supervising Doctor ordered and she did. The machine whined up and when it was fully powered up, they shocked him again. The monitor flickered again, but still showed no improvement.

Sally fell to her knees, crying. She turned away, unable to watch any longer. She didn't know what was worse, watching everything unfold in front of her, or the fact she couldn't do a damn thing about it. "Charge to full." The Doctor ordered. The nurse reached over and turned the machine up to full, and once it was charged, the Doctor discharged it again, causing Sonic's body to rise and fall, hitting the bed with a thump. Everyone involved looked up at the monitor and saw that there had been no change and the Doctor tossed the paddles down on the bed, disheartened and shaking his head. "Time of death... 2:18 a.m." The Doctor said, taking off his gloves and tossing them in a trash can against the wall. One of the nurses nodded while the other one began to unhook Sonic from the monitor. "What're you doing?" Sally asked, pulling herself up off the floor and rushing over to Sonic's bedside. "You can't stop. You can't..." She trailed off, looking down at Sonic then back up at them.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said. "He's been down too long-"

"No!" Sally cried. "There's got to be something you can give him! You can't give up." She demanded. The Doctor went over and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but we did everything we could." He said and with that, he pulled the curtain that surrounded the bed closed. Sally, tears in her eyes, held the man she loved in her arms, his lifeless body shaking with every sob that emanated from within her. _"I love you." _She whispered as she held him tightly. _"Please don't leave me. Don't leave me."_

Meanwhile

"Where is he!?" Knuckles asked as soon as he barged through the door. The nurse that was working behind the desk looked up, started by the sudden outburst. "Excuse me?" She asked. "Sonic! Where is he?" Knuckles asked again as the others walked through the door. The nurse, who had seen them before, recognized him. "I'll go check." She said and disappeared through the doors that led to the ER's exam area. "I don't like this." Tails said. There was a strange feeling in the air, something that none of them could figure out. "I know what you mean." Shadow said. "Something's wrong."

The nurse came out a few second's later, her gaze cast down on the floor. The four of them didn't like the look on her face. "The Doctor will be out in a second." She said and sat back down at the desk. "Something's wrong, isn't there? What is it?" Knuckles demanded. The nurse looked back up at him. "The Doctor will explain everything." She said and went back to her duties. The feeling of uneasiness began to sink in to all of them; Tails especially.

*Thoom* The doors behind the desk fling open and the ER's supervising Doctor walked out. The nurse looked up at him and nodded. "Hi. I'm Dr. Wilson. I take it you're all friends of Sonic?" He asked; they all nodded in unison. "What happened?" Knuckles asked. The Doctor took a quick, deep breath and let it out. "Would you all come with me please?" He asked, motioning down the hall. "It's bad, isn't it?" Tails asked. "Please, this way." The Doctor asked again. Everyone immediately knew that something had gone terribly wrong and they all began to brace themselves for the worst.

They followed Dr. Wilson to a room down a hallway and the five of them packed the room. "It's serious, isn't it?" Shadow asked. Dr. Wilson nodded. "What happened?"

"When you're friend was brought in-" Shadow stopped him cold. It was obvious the Doctor was trying to tell them in a delicate way, but Shadow just wanted to get it over with; a trait that they all shared. "Don't beat around the bush. Is he ok?"

Dr. Wilson shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you're friend didn't make it." Tails turned into Cream and buried his head in her shoulder, his sobs muffled by her shirt. They both sat down in the only two chairs that were in front of the desk. Knuckles and Shadow held back, but they shed a few as well; a rare sight for either of them. "From what his wife told us, we believe he suffered a heart attack before he was brought in and when he arrived, every attempt to revive him failed. I'm sorry. We did everything we could." Dr. Wilson said.

Shadow nodded. "I'll uh, let his wife know that you're here." Dr. Wilson said and left the room. When he came back, they were all standing outside the office. "Where is she?" Knuckles asked, expecting Sally to be following the Doctor. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to where she is." Dr. Wilson said. The others nodded and followed him. After walking for a couple of minutes, they turned down a hallway and walked to the end of the corridor. The closer they got, they began to hear the sounds of sobs coming from one of the rooms.

"Here we are." Dr. Wilson said, waiving an arm toward the door. A small gold plaque sat on the wall next to the door that read, 'Quiet room'. Dr. Wilson knocked lightly on the door and a second later it opened. Sally, still weeping saw the others and she rushed out and Shadow, being the one standing in her path, fell into his arms. He grabbed her and she began to cry again. Dr. Wilson nodded and walked away and they walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

The room was simple, just a couple of couches, a few paintings on the wall and a plant. Nothing special, but it wasn't set up for a party. Tails, Cream and Knuckles took a couch and Shadow and Sally took another one.

"It'll be ok." Shadow said. Sally nodded, wiping her eyes. "I know." Sally mouthed, unable to really speak. "At least he's not suffering anymore." She said.

Some time later

"You can pick up his belongings from the front desk in the ER; I'm sorry for your loss." The nurse said, taking the papers Sally had to sign and sticking them under her arm. "It's ok." Sally replied as the nurse got up and walked out of the room. "Huh. They act like he's just a piece of property." Sally grunted, wiping away a few residual tears. The papers she had to sign were the agreement to release his body for the autopsy and some other official nonsense, waving her right to sue the hospital and whatnot. They gave her the opportunity to see him one last time, but she refused; a good choice considering the state of mind.

Now that that part was over, the only thing left to do was grieve. It was quiet in the little room they had all been shuttled to and they all stood up and headed back down to the ER. The entire walk was quiet and when the got to the ER's front desk, Sally told the nurse on duty that she was there to pick up Sonic's things. "Of course." The nurse said and went into the exam room. She came out a few seconds later, carrying a plastic bag with everything Sonic had been wearing. Sally saw it and she immediately began to tear up. Shadow took it and put it behind his back so he or anyone else could see it. "Let's just go." Sally said quickly, dabbing her eyes with a tissue that had already become soaked.

As they got out to their cars, they all said their goodbye's to each other and promised to meet up later on, and as Tails and Cream went to get into their car and Shadow started to take off, the noticed Sally standing outside hers, keys in hand and face warped in tears. _Oh God. _Shadow thought as he, Tails and Cream headed over to her. "I can't..." she sobbed, the keys dangling from her hand. Tails nodded over to their car and Shadow gently put an arm around her and walked her over to their car.

"We'll give you a ride and come back for your car, Sal." Tails said. She nodded and crawled in the backseat and broke down again. There was no way she was able to drive after what had happened. The drive back, like the last hour was quiet, quick outbursts coming from the backseat and eyes wiped dry. Tails pulled the car into the driveway and they all climbed out, Shadow helping her to the door. They walked in and another wave of sadness came over all of them. It was weird not seeing Sonic waiting inside for them or doing something around the house and tears ensued. Sally walked in and tossed her keys on the desk, but she missed and they fell to the floor.

"Thanks for bringing me home. I don't think I could've made the drive back here." Sally said. "Don't worry about it." Cream said.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Shadow asked, holding the bag of Sonic's clothes. Sally grabbed it and put it behind her back. "Thanks. If you guys don't mind, I'm uh... I'm gonna go lie down for a while." Sally said. "We can stay here with you for the night if you want." Cream offered. Sally smiled weakly. It was nice and showed how much they cared for her. "Thanks." She said. "But I'll be alright." She said, which was her way of saying 'Leave me alone right now'. Everyone nodded and left; she slowly walked back to her room, head slumped as she disappeared to the back of the house.

Sally went into the bedroom and locked the door behind her and sat on the side of the bed, the bag of Sonic's clothes in her hand. She tossed it beside her and her eyes began to water from the sight of it, but she forced herself to reach out and open the bag. She set it upright and when the bag opened, she grabbed the shirt Sonic had been wearing; it still had his smell on it and she held it to her face and took a deep breath. It reminded her of him and eased the pain somewhat and she took her own shirt off and pulled his on. Next, she took his shoes out of the bag. They were old and worn down after years of use. Sally tried to get him to throw them out, but he argued that he loved them and he wouldn't give them up for anything. Looking back now, it was a silly argument and she'd let him have a thousand pairs of those shoes if it meant she could have him back. She laid them gently on the floor, tossing the bag in a corner. At the bottom of the plastic bag, was a smaller bag which had his wedding ring. She took that out and tossed the larger bag in a corner and tore open the smaller bag and after holding his ring in her fingers, she laid it on the nightstand next to the bed. She was still weeping slightly as she threw her pillow on the floor and grabbed his and put it under her head as she laid down, it too having his smell.

As Sally lay on the bed, which felt cold and empty without him next to her, she grabbed his ring and held it in her fingers, turning it over and over. On her nightstand was a picture of him and her. The same picture of them sitting underneath the large tree in the front yard when they had first bought the house. She grabbed it and stared at his image; more tears began falling. _I love you. She thought as she held it close to her body; she cried until she fell asleep._


	30. Chapter 30: Alone Again

Chapter 30

Alone Again- Rated T

Hope you enjoy it.

The Next Day

"Sonic..." She said softly as she called out to him and started to cry. That was how most of her night had went. She hadn't managed much sleep, only nodding off for a few minutes at a time. When she did sleep, it wasn't pleasant. She kept dreaming that he was standing next to her one minute, talking, then he'd suddenly disappear. Or that one where he was walking just ahead of her and when she called out to him and tried to catch up, he'd walk faster and faster until he faded away; she always chalked those kind's of dreams to movies or crackpot's until then. The last one she had was particularly odd. They were talking out back on that hill they always sat on and watched the sun go down, then suddenly, he slowly sunk into the ground. She tried to reach out to him, but when he was halfway in the ground, he looked up at her, smiled and sank completely; that was how she woke up.

Sally reached over and grabbed a tissue out of the box she now kept next to her bed, dabbed her eyes, balled it up and tossed on the floor; when she did that, she caught a glimpse of his shoes she had placed on the floor the night before which caused her to start crying all over again. Everywhere she looked in her bedroom, there was something to remind her of Sonic. She reached over and grabbed another one, then grabbed her phone. "I can't stay here." Sally said as she scrolled through her contacts until she came upon Cream's number and dialed.

"C'mon dammit." Tails muttered, trying to loosen a nut on a panel underneath the Tornado's underbelly. It was time for it's weekly maintenance and he was stuck on the one panel that always gave him the most trouble. "Why is it always you?" Tails waived a finger at the stubborn nut as if it would respond. Actually there was no need for him to be putting himself through this again. There wasn't really much underneath the plane that required much mechanical attention. He was doing it mostly to keep his mind occupied and keep himself from thinking about Sonic.

Tails maneuvered the roller bench he was laying on into a more favorable position and readied his wrench. "I'll get ya..." He trailed off as he readied himself to give it a strong turn. Just as he went to twist, his phone started ringing. "Jeez." He muttered, reaching up and pushing the button on the receiver he had in his ear. He hated using headset's or infrared receivers; he found them incredibly annoying, especially in public. People walking around talking into thin air to no one. But if they were used for something practical, like if your hands were busy at work or, in his case, repairing machinery, they were acceptable.

"Hello?" He said as he pushed the 'receive' button and went back to the task at hand. "Tails?"

"Sally?" He asked. He wasn't expecting to hear from her so soon after everything that happened; he figured maybe in a day or two. "Tails?" Sally said in the same fashion. She took the phone away from her ear for a second and saw she had dialed his number instead of Cream's. She kept their numbers next to each other in her phone's contact list instead of alphabetically so it would be easier to find in case she needed to talk to one of them and the other was busy.

"You ok?" Tails asked. "No." Sally replied, wiping her eyes again. "I was wondering if I could stay with you and Cream for a day or two?" Sally asked.

Tails rolled himself from under the Tornado and sat up. "Of course." He said without a second thought. "As long as you need. I can come and pick you up if you like." Tails said. "Yeah." She replied; she wasn't in any condition to drive at the moment anyway. "I really appreciate it." She said. "I'll be over in a few minutes." Tails said. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Sally set her phone down and began to pack, which wasn't easy. As soon as she opened the closet door, she saw Sonic's clothes which took up half of the closet; hers the other. Even more reminders that he was no longer there to fuel her pain. She grabbed a few items as quickly as she could and shut the door. No thoughts other than Sonic went through her head as she finished packing, grabbing a few odds and ends and throwing them in a bag. When she was done, she grabbed her phone, her keys and went outside and waited on the porch for Tails.

Smooth jazz came from the speakers in his car as Tails pulled up to Sally's. He saw her sitting on the porch, clutching a bag in her hand and obviously crying. She heard his car and she looked up at him and gave a tearful smile, which faded as quickly as it had appeared. He nodded and returned it with one of his own, but already he was beginning to feel that familiar lump form in his throat. He had stayed up for a few nights in his lab, trying to keep his mind off of Sonic, but it didn't help much; some of his time was spent crying. Cream being Cream tried to console him but he told her he just wanted to be alone; as hard as it was to listen to him cry those hard sobs, she stayed upstairs with the TV turned up loud to try to drown him out although she had to fight herself to stay put.

Tails shut the engine off and got out. "Hey Sally." He said as he walked up to her. She nodded and when he got up to her, she dropped the bag and gave him a hug. "Whoa-" He yelped, surprised at the sudden action. She started crying again and he quickly regained his senses and returned the hug. "I miss him." She said quietly; a sense of reassurance washed over her.

"I know. I do to." He replied, hugging her right back. "C'mon." He said, gently pulling her toward his car. "Let's get out of here." He said. She nodded and they walked over to his car. _She can't stay here alone._ He thought as he helped her get into the car. He took her bag and set it in the backseat and went around to his side. Tails took one look at the house and he felt the lump in his throat get bigger. _And neither can I._

"Thanks for picking me up." Sally said. "Don't worry bout it." Tails replied as he started the car and put it into gear and drove back to his house.

"Guess she beat me home." Tails said as they pulled up to his house. He shut the engine off and they got out. By now, Tails had managed to calm her down and she wasn't crying. They walked in and Cream came over to her and gave her a hug. "Hi Sally." She said. The show of support from both of them helped relieve much of the sadness she had been feeling since that morning. "Come in." Cream said and Sally followed them inside. Tails sat her bag down and gave Cream a small kiss. "Hey." He said and sat down on the far end of the couch. "I'm sorry to ask like this all of a sudden." Sally said. "Don't worry about it." Cream said. "You take as much time as you need. You want something to drink?"

"Tea if you have any." Sally said. Cream nodded and made her a quick cup and brought it to her. _Lemon._ She thought as the scent wafted to her nose. She sipped it and the warm liquid rushed over her tongue and down her throat. Cream and Tails tried to get her to open up, but she wasn't in much of a talking mood; no surprise to either of them. She opened up a little, but it was still too painful for her and Cream decided to drop it until she was ready. Cream offered Sally something to eat that night, but she said she wasn't that hungry. "If you guys don't mind, I'd just like to go to bed." Sally said. She was exhausted and at least here, she figured she had a chance to get some sleep.

Cream nodded and led her to a back bedroom. The room was fully furnished, except for a TV. "Thanks." Sally said and sat down on the bed, setting her belongings on the bed beside her. "You need anything else?" Cream asked. There was, but it was impossible for anyone to get it. "No. Thanks." Sally said. Cream nodded and shut the door.

Sally locked the door and changed into her flannel pajama bottoms and took the shirt of Sonic's that she had worn last night and put it back on. It still had his scent on it, which brought her some comfort. She smiled weakly as another memory of him came to her, causing the lump in her throat to swell again. Sally turned the light off and crawled into bed and finally drifted off to sleep.

"That was fun." Tails said as Knuckles and Shadow walked out the door. "Shadow can't play Charades to save his life though." He said as he sat back on the couch. *Clank* "Dang." Cream said as the sound of plate's clanking against each other came from inside the kitchen. "Need some help?" Tails called out. "I got it." She replied.

"That _was_ fun." Sally said. It was the most fun she had had in the last few days. Staying with them had really helped her get through the first few days without him. Maybe this little get together would keep her from crying most of the night. "Yeah." Tails said, putting the notepad that he kept score on back in its place. "Who would've thought Knuckles was a natural at it?" Tails mused.

Sally yawned and when she did, her eyes caught a glimpse of a clock hanging on the wall. "It's ten already?" She said. *Yawn* "I think I'm gonna get to bed." She said. "Okay." Tails said as she got up. "See ya in the morning."

"Night." She said, heading toward the bedroom. "Night, Cream." Sally said as she went into the hallway. When Tails heard her door shut, he got up and went into the kitchen, where Cream was finishing up the last of the dishes. "Did you notice how happy she was tonight?" He asked Cream, who was drying her hands off on a towel. "Yeah. Better than she has been."

Tails grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and cracked it open. "I just hope she can get some sleep tonight." Cream nodded. Tails slapped the cap back on the bottle. Cream tossed the towel back on the counter. She hated hearing anyone crying and having to listen to it coming through the wall ate at her, knowing there was nothing she could do. Cream flicked the kitchen light off. "I know one thing."

"What's that?" Tails asked. "You're cleaning up tomorrow." She said as they walked back to their bedroom.

The next morning

The next morning, Sally came out of her room and made her way to the dining room, where Cream was already awake. "Morning." Sally said as she walked past Cream and into the kitchen, grabbing a banana and filling a cup with hot water for some tea. "Morning." Cream said as she got up and walked into the kitchen. She noticed something odd about Sally's behavior. The cloud of sadness that had been hanging over her the last few days seemed all but gone and Sally seemed happier, almost normal.

"You ok?" Cream asked. "Fine." Sally said, tossing the teabag into the trash and walking back to the table. "Where's Tails?"

"He's still asleep. Had another rough night last night." Cream said as she sat down across from Sally. "What about you? You get any sleep this time?"

Sally nodded. "Yeah. Finally." She said. Cream nodded. "I thought so." She said. There was a slight pause and Sally kept fidgeting in her chair, tapping her finger on the side of her cup. "You sure you're ok?" Cream asked. Sally nodded, then shook her head no. "Can I tell you something?" Sally asked Cream. "Of course." She replied. "You won't tell anyone?" Sally asked. "Of course not." Cream said. She wasn't sure why she always asked Cream that question. She trusted her completely and knew Cream would never tell anyone anything she was told, but it was just one of those things.

"You mind if we go...?" Sally trailed off, jerking her head slightly to the living room. "These chairs aren't exactly comfortable right now." Cream nodded and they both went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Cream knew it was a stall tactic on her part and a poor one since the chairs at the table were padded well.

"So what's the problem?" Cream asked. Sally took a deep breath; she was still hesitant to talk to Cream about personal issues even though she trusted her fully. "You won't make fun of me?" Sally asked. "Of course not." Cream said.

"Okay." She said. "I had a dream last night... about Sonic." Cream nodded. "What happened?"

Sally hesitated for a second again. "I remember I was sleeping." She said as she began to go into detail about her dream. "I remember waking up in the room back there," She said, quickly pointing to the room that Cream and Tails were letting her sleep in. "and when I did, the clock didn't say any time, it just had 88:88 like it was just plugged in." Cream nodded.

"Then I said 'I'm late' although it was night and I threw back to blanket, but it was some kind of cloth-like tinfoil." Sally's eyes squinted as she went into detail, like she couldn't believe what was coming out of her mouth. "So I opened the closet, which was the one in my room at the house and all my clothes were replaced with these pink dresses with white trim on the neck and bottom." She paused and shuddered for a second, then continued. "So I'm shifting them back and forth, looking for something different, but I can only find those dresses, then in the back, I see this little black dress hanging on a hangar so I take that and throw it on and shut the closet door and walked out."

Cream listened to every word. She enjoyed listening to other people talk about their dreams. It wasn't that she was looking for gossip or had some ulterior motive, she just enjoyed the story that came with them. "So I walk out of the room and I'm back in my house and as I walk into the living room..." Sally trailed off.

"What is it?" Cream asked. "I saw..." Sally started to say as tears began to well in her eyes. Cream had an idea where this was going. "I saw him." Sally said as a few tears graced her cheek. Cream reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "He looked so healthy." Sally said through quiet sobs. "He looked normal. Not like he did before."

"What happened?" Cream asked. Sally wiped her eyes and gathered herself, although a few sobs still came out. "I said, 'Why didn't you call? You know how I hate it when you take off like that without warning.' I said." Sally stopped to gather her thoughts. "He just walked over to me and said, 'I'm sorry but it was an emergency, I had to go.'

'Well, just don't let it happen again. Now come on, the others are waiting.' I said, then I started walking over to the door. I don't know where we had to be, but it was important whatever it was. 'I can't.' He said. 'I have to take off again.' I walked back over to him. 'What? They want you to go back?' I asked him and he nodded. 'Tell them this is more important.' He said. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around him. 'Well, just make it quick. I'll tell the others you're not coming; I know they're not going to like it though.'

'Don't worry, you'll all be fine.'

'When you gonna be back?' I asked him. He shook his head. 'I'm not sure; I've got to get going.' He said and walked over to the door. He put his hand on the knob, then pulled it away and started snapping his fingers like he was trying to remember something. 'Before I forget, can you go into the nightstand on my side of the bed?'

'Yeah. Why?' I said. But he didn't say why, he just walked over to me and held me close like he always did every time he was about to leave. 'Apologize to the others for me, huh?' Then he leaned in to give me a kiss and before we actually touched, I woke up." Sally said and leaned back.

Cream nodded. _Wow. _"I think that was his way of telling me he's ok, you know?" She paused again. "When I woke up, I felt a lot better. I didn't have that sadness or depression hanging over me like I've had the last few days, I felt good." Sally said, giving a little chuckle and paused again. "But I think I'm ready to go back home." She said.

"Are you sure?" Cream asked. Sally nodded. "Yeah. There's a lot I need to get done."

"You can stay here another day if you need to." Cream said. "Thanks." Sally said, "but there's things at the house I need to take care of." She did have a lot to do. She felt as if she had made it over the 'hump' that came with the death of someone close and now she had the task of dealing with that; his belongings, planning the funeral and what came with that. She knew it was going to be hard to go through, but she felt that her dream last night had been his way of telling her that it was going to be ok and she had finally reached some level of peace. "If that's what you want." Cream said. "But my offer always stands." Sally smiled; touched by the gesture she had been given. "You and Tails have done more than enough for me." She said, giving Cream a friendly hug. "Thank you." They broke apart. "When did you want to take off?" Cream asked. "As soon as possible. There's a lot I need to get done." Sally said.

An hour later, Sally was packed and her, Tails and Cream all piled into his car and they drove her back home. As they drove, the atmosphere in the car was lively, warm; a complete 180 from a few days ago. But as they got closer, Sally began to grow quiet. She knew that empty house was waiting for her, but she also knew she had to be strong. "You ok?" Cream asked. "Mm-hmm." Sally nodded. "I'll be fine."

As they pulled into the driveway behind Sally's car, she felt a chill run down her spine and she wanted to let go, but she was getting tired of crying on an almost constant basis. She sucked it up and put those feelings away until she was alone. Cream shut the engine off and they all got out. The house looked dark, empty; a shell of it's former self. It was like it died along with Sonic. Tails grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk and shut it.

_I can do this._ She thought as she fumbled for the key in her pocket and grabbed it as she reached the porch. '_Hey, Sal.'_ she heard in her mind as she came up to the porch where he had fallen that night she found him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stuck the key in, but she couldn't turn it. Cream, standing behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, offering her support. Sally nodded and gave the key a turn and the door swung inward. She let out a small whimper, but took a breath and walked in.

It was like she had stepped into a foreign world. It was cold and dark, even though it was mid-afternoon. No Sonic there to greet them, no sounds coming from the back of the house or the kitchen from him trying to cook something which left the house filled with smoke on more than one occasion. She lat a small laugh out as she pictured him in one of his failed attempts to cook and walked into the house, Cream and Tails following close by; he set the suitcase just inside the door.

"Thanks for everything guys." Sally said, giving Cream a big hug. "You would've done the same for either of us." Cream replied. She wanted to give one to Tails as well, but she didn't feel right with Cream standing next to him. She simply nodded and he returned it. "C'mon." Cream said, tapping Tails on the hand. "Bye Sally." He said as he turned back toward the door. "Bye." She said, giving him a big smile. It was obvious he wasn't very comfortable being in the house, but Sally noticed he was doing a much better job holding everything back. She watched from the window as they got in and she waved to them as Cream backed the car out of the driveway. As she made the turn to straighten the car out, she saw Tails run a hand across his face. "Poor kid." She said to herself, then turned to the inside of the house.

She grabbed her suitcase, then went over to the couch and grabbed the remote to turn the TV on, not so she could watch it though. She needed background noise. Sally hated it when the house was silent; she always had as long as she could remember. As she went back to the bedroom to unpack, memories about Sonic began to come to her. The trigger, was the TV; one of the first arguments she had with him, and looking back on it now it seemed so trivial, but at the time it was a major issue. He wanted it quiet so he could sleep and she needed some kind of noise to fall asleep to. They battled back and forth for three days both making their case until Sally finally gave up. "Fine." She said in that flat, quick tone she used when she was pushed passed that 'Don't talk to me or I'll cut your head off' point. That night when they went to bed, she turned the TV off like he wanted and she lay there. _I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight._ She thought, angry with herself for giving in so easily.

As Sonic turned the light off, Sally rolled over, her back turned toward her. He pulled the sheet over him and got and wrapped an arm around her, giving her a gentle kiss on the back of the neck. "Goodnight Sal." She said. "Night." She said flatly. She got over it pretty quickly and she found that being next to him was the only thing she needed. The sound of his breathing, his scent, the warmth of his body and the way he held her just right, he was the only thing she needed to fall asleep to after that.

She turned around to slide the empty suitcase under the bed, but when she did, tears began to well up in her eyes. "This is where he..." She trailed off. That night when he collapsed on the side of the bed rushed back to her. That night was still fresh in her mind, hand on his chest, grabbing at some invisible force that was pressing down on him. Tears began to fall and she ran out into the dining room, falling to her knees.

That night, she went about getting ready for bed, but when she was finally ready, she walked into the bedroom and tried again, but she couldn't stay in there for more than a minute; it was going to be a little while longer before she could sleep in her bed again, she decided to make due on the couch. But as she lay there, with the TV going for the first time in years, she was focused on tomorrow. It was going to be a busy day for her. Tomorrow, she had to start planning Sonic's funeral, which was a pretty massive undertaking. She knew she could call Cream, but she was beginning to feel bad about relying on her and Tails as much as she had been. Sally's mind swirled with thoughts and emotions on and off most of the night. Sure, she managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but she kept waking up every few minutes and when she woke up the next morning, she felt tired and sick at her stomach.

She got up and went toward the bathroom, stopping to look at her bedroom, the door still wide open. She went over and closed it quickly, then realized she still needed to change. "Dammit." She muttered as she went into the bathroom to start the day. When she came back out, she had put the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, splashed with a little perfume.

*Ugh* She grunted as she noticed the clock: 9:42. "Overslept. *heh* I slept?" She asked herself as she grabbed an apple of the counter as she went back in the living room and sat on the couch, phone in one hand, apple in the other which she polished off in five bites. "I'll get that later." She mumbled as she reached down underneath the end table by the couch and grabbed the phone book. *heh* She laughed at the fact that there was still one in the house, since you could look up numbers on a computer just as easy and twice as fast. She flipped to the page labeled 'Funeral Parlors-Services'. There were listing's for nine in the area and she sighed. "This is gonna be fun." She muttered as she dialed the first number.

*whew* She let out a breath as she hung up and set the phone down. Sally leaned back against the couch to collect her thoughts. That had been a hassle. All she wanted to do was make a simple appointment with one of them, but the four of the parlors she had called had closed down and was now an office building. Sally had been told that it had been shut down for mismanaging their client's gravesites, selling the plots and burying the departed in shallow graves. The one she settled on managed to get her an appointment for the next day, which is what she was looking for.

Now that the problem of finding a funeral home was out of the way, she could move on to the next step: going through his things. It wasn't necessary at the moment, but she'd have to do it in the next day or two, plus, since he didn't have a will, it was up to her to decide what to do with his stuff. Knowing that it wasn't going to get done by itself, she got up off the couch and walked back to her bedroom. She was sweating slightly and her heart pounded the closer she got and in a few seconds, she was standing in front of the door; Sally laid a hand on the knob.

"You can do this." She said, taking a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly. Sally closed her eyes and opened the door. It swung inward; the room lit up from the sun, yet dark at the same time. She walked in and a chill ran down her spine. Sally took a step forward, then another, hesitated then took another. She was anxious, her heart racing; on the nightstand on 'her' side of the bed was the picture of them and she picked it up and looked at it. Seeing him in that moment, alive and happy brought that sense of comfort she felt when she looked at it and she began to calm down. *heh* "You always know how to make me happy."

Sally smiled and held it close as she made her way to the other side of the bed, 'his' side of the bed and sat down, setting the picture of him on 'his' nightstand. 'Before I forget, can you go into the nightstand on my side of the bed?' That question he had asked her in her dream rang through her again. She thought it was a little odd she was about to do something she was told to do in a dream, but it seemed to be more than just a dream to her. What was she going to find when she opened it? Some great secret he had been holding from her for a long time? A hidden door filled with money he'd kept from her for a 'rainy day'? Drugs?

His nightstand was just like hers, small and square with two drawers; stained a natural dark brown. She opened the top drawer and looked inside. It held various items, socks, underwear, and a couple bottles of his pills that he didn't finish. "Gonna need to toss those." She said, taking them out and laying them on the bed. She ruffled through the pairs of socks and underneath, she found a round black tube, still in the package. "Oh, my God." She murmured. "He actually kept it."

One year for their anniversary, they thought it would be funny if they both got each other a couple of gag gifts as a laugh, but to make it interesting and to guarantee a good laugh, part of it had to be sexy. He got her a pair of 'granny' panties that were four sized too large for her and the ugliest green and brown plaid pattern he had ever seen, bra with cups that were four sizes too large and a riding crop with a horse head on the end, and a tool set. She on the other hand, got him the stuff to make Chilidogs, except it was all vegetarian. The Chili was vegetarian, the onions were organic; the hot-dogs and cheese were made from tofu and the buns were whole-grain. They opened theirs and they both laughed when Sally pulled out the 'sexy' part of the gag gifts, but when she actually put them on, Sonic busted up laughing.

She gave him his and he opened the box which had the vegetarian Chilidog set-up inside and he laughed. "Thought you'd enjoy that." She said, laughing. He set it down. "You don't expect me to eat that, do you?" He asked her. "No." She said. Next was the 'sexy' part of the gift and she handed him a long square package, about seven inches in length. "What did you do?" He wondered. She just smiled and he shook his head and opened it. Once the paper was off and he saw what she had gotten him, he laughed his head off. The top of the package, in big bold yellow and purple writing said, The 'Flash'light! "Really?" He said, holding it up in front of her and started laughing. "I thought it would come in handy the next time you make me mad and I cut you off." She said, giggling. "You could keep it under the couch."

She laughed and looked back up at the photo. "You kept it?" she asked the picture. "Well, you didn't open it so I guess that's something." She murmured, saw nothing else and closed the drawer. "Next." She said and reached down and opened the other one. She pulled on it and her fingers slipped off. "What the..." She murmured. It was heavier than the other one. She reached down and pulled again, this time using a little more force. The drawer slid open and she was surprised by what she saw.

Sally grabbed the drawer and pulled it out completely and set it on the bed and sat back down. Inside was a box, solid wood. "Guess you were right." She said to the photo and reached inside. The box rather large to be inside a nightstand of that size. It was about seven inches long, five inches wide and five inches deep; she set it on the bed, grabbing the drawer and setting it on the floor. She studied the box and saw it had no lock.

Her heart was racing again as she took hold of the lid. She didn't know what she was going to find inside and, taking a deep breath, she took the lid off and set it aside. "Holy..."

Inside were papers, notepads filled with writing, envelopes, some sealed and some empty. She dug through it; most of the box's contents random papers and bills. She began sorting through it and at first, she didn't find anything significant. Most of the bills were from the past six months that had already been paid. Next, she pulled out a notepad and a legal pad. She set those aside to look through later. And the last bit she pulled out was a small paper bag. Sally opened it and saw it had a few envelopes that were wrapped in a clear plastic bag. She took them out and set them aside, and turned her attention to the pads. She picked up one and opened it.

It didn't have anything special inside, doodles mostly; some of them were random, done out of boredom and some where quite intricate and well drawn. He had panache for drawing and it was something he enjoyed from time to time, usually as a way to help him think; she flipped through it and set it aside. Next, she picked up the legal pad. The front had a cardboard flap that covered the first sheet and opened from the bottom.

Sally flipped it open and went through the pages. "Wow." She said. It was a diary; the inside cover said, 'If you're reading this, put it back.' Sally had no idea he even kept something like this. From what she could tell, he started it just after he'd left the hospital when he returned. It started with a simple entry, only a couple sentences long. It didn't say much, but the deeper she dove into it, the more intricate some of the entries became and the more he poured his heart and soul into it. Sally stopped reading it and set it aside, unable to continue. She felt horrible, digging through his innermost thoughts wasn't right. She knew if she had something like that and she had died, but Sonic was alive, she wouldn't want him reading it. She made a vow to never open it again.

Sally turned her attention to a plastic sandwich bag that had envelopes sealed inside of it. Sally opened the bag and took them out. There were four in total and each had been sealed; three of them had something solid inside and one was just a regular envelope. When she turned them over, she saw he had written 'For Shadow' on the front of the first one. The next one said 'For Knuckles' followed by one for Cream and Tails, which were the three that had something inside of them than just paper. The last one was a little bigger than the others and had a little more weight to it, but it was flexible and had nothing solid inside. It said, 'To my wife." _I wonder when he made these? Sally thought as she set the others down and opened the one adressed to her. Inside were two pages and she took them out, her hands shaking and tears beginning to well in her eyes and she began to read._

'_Hi Sal. If you're reading this, that means I'm gone. I hope you're doing well. I can't even imagine how hard this has been on you. Guess I screwed up again. I know I said I wasn't gonna put you through anymore shit like this, but I guess I broke that promise. I'm sorry. I know I've said that so many times those words probably don't mean much anymore, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I'm sorry for being so selfish, for running away from you and the others. I'm sorry for keeping my problems with my ticker from you for so long. No matter what I did, you always forgave me. Then I asked you to marry me. I thought for sure you were gonna say no. But you surprised me and you said yes. That was the happiest day of my life. I was the luckiest man on the face of Mobius'_

_Sally stopped and wiped her eyes, then continued reading. 'and I have you to thank. Before I go, I want you to do something for me. Don't stop living your life just because I'm gone. Live life, be happy no matter what that is or how you do it. I love you and I will always love you. We'll see each other again.'_

_The paper blurred as tears continued to roll down her cheeks and she flipped over to the second piece of paper and she kept reading. It was a poem made out to her. Above it had a simple sentence that said, 'We'll see each other again someday. I love you.'_

_Voices_

_A thousand thousand voices_

_Whispering_

_The time has passed for choices_

_Golden days are passing over_

_I can't seem to see you baby_

_although my eyes are open wide_

_but I know I'll see you once more,_

_and I'll see you,_

_I'll see you on the other side._

_Leaving,_

_I hate to see you cry._

_Grieving,_

_I hate to say goodbye._

_Dust and ash forever._

_Though I know we must be parting,_

_As sure as stars are in the sky._

_I'm gonna see you when it comes to glowing,_

_and I'll see you, _

_see you on the other side._

_Never thought I'd feel like this,_

_strange to be alone._

_But we'll be together,_

_carved in stone._

_Hold me._

_Hold me tight I'm falling._

_Far away,_

_distant voices calling,_

_I'm so cold I need you darling_

_I was down but now I'm flying,_

_straight across the great divide._

_I know you're crying, but I'll stop your crying,_

_When I see you,_

_see you on the other side._

_God knows I'll see you,_

_see you on the other side._

_A/N: Sorry for the long break between chapters. I was able to work on these every night, but over the last two months, I've only been able to get in once a week if I'm lucky. One question about the song I used, I wanted to use a song as a poem he wrote for Sally and that one seemed to fit in my opinion. What do you think? Does it fit into the story and would you have used it, used another one or not used it at all? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading._

_Song credit: 'See you on the other side' written by Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Ian Kilmister & Zakk Wylde_


	31. Chapter 31 Final Preperations (revised)

Chapter 31

Final Preparations

First off, I uploaded this one too soon. This one is pretty much filler to get to the chapter, which, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything here, is going to be the funeral. I wanted to have something before it instead of jumping right to it, so I went ahead and did this, but I played stupid and rushed through it. So, I did some work on the first half of it and went through it one last time, cleaning up a few mistakes and fleshing it out a little more, but for the most part, it's the same story. I know there's been a few like this along the way and I apologize. So, with that being said, I hope you enjoy it; if not, I completely understand. Also, drop me a review to let me know if you hated this, thought it was just ok, or genuinely liked it. Thanks for reading.

The following morning, Sally really didn't want to get up. In fact, she wished she could just sleep through that day or have someone else do it. But reluctantly, she sat up on the side of the couch and after waiting a minute so she could 'wake up', she began her day. After a shower and a change, she grabbed a piece of fruit of the bowl on the counter and a cup of coffee. It was quick, easy and there was little clean-up.

When she called to confirm her appointment, they told her that she'd need to get his suit and a copy of his death certificate before coming in. The problem with that was, she had neither of those. She had spent the past few days grieving. She hoped that she could just go there, hammer out the details and gather anything she needed afterward or at the very least the following day.

Sally shut the engine off and walked up to the door to Cream and Tails' house and knocked. "Hey Sally." Cream said when she opened the door, Tails standing right behind her. "Hi. Ready?" Sally asked. Cream nodded and turned around. "I'll see you later." She said to Tails, giving him a small kiss. He returned it, but Sally could clearly see him blushing through the bright orange fur on his face. He wasn't big on public displays of affection, but Cream had managed to get him to break out of his shell over time. There was something special about her which made the two of them a perfect fit. His lab was their source of income; some of his projects were government contracts as well as contracts with G.U.N. helping to improve their armor and electronics. She spent a lot of time with him down there and on several occasions, had actually assisted him with more than one project he was working on, thus allowing them to spend more time in the lab as well as out of it. Cream walked out to Sally's car and climbed in. "Thanks for coming with me." Sally said, setting her purse in the middle seat. "Don't worry about it. Just happy to help." The rabbit said, reaching behind her and grabbing the buckle for her seatbelt.

They were late. They had to drive around for fifteen minutes until Cream finally spotted the funeral parlor. When they pulled up to the funeral home, Sally was feeling a bit nervous but she sucked it up and went inside. The inside of the funeral home was beautiful. The walls were dark stained wood, or at least a something that closely resembled wood. There were two large windows, both covered in dark tint to keep the sun out yet letting in just the right amount of light. Sconce lights on the wall faced toward the ceiling, bathing the room in a soft white light and hanging behind the reception desk, a large painting of a meadow hung on the wall. Cream sat down in a chair along the wall next to a large bookcase while Sally walked up to the front desk.

"Good morning." The receptionist said. "Hi." Sally said, trying to sound cheerful when that was the last feeling she had. "My name is Sally Acorn and I have a 10:30 appointment."

The receptionist, an older woman typed her name into the keyboard in front of her. "Let's see... ah, yes. Mrs. Acorn. Have a seat I'll let Mr. Roberts know you're here." She said. "Thank you." Sally said and took a few steps back and sat next to Cream who was reading a book. Sally was glad she had came along with her, but the guilt of relying on Cream yet again began to eat at her. _God,_ Sally thought as she reached for a magazine on a table to try to take her mind off pf it. _Did I really need to bring her along with me again? _She thought as she mindlessly thumbed through the magazine. _She's got to be getting tired of dealing with me; Tails too. They've done more than enough for me._ She absent-mindedly flipped the page, not really reading the magazine, which was one of those mindless celebrity gossip magazines._ Maybe I should-_

"Sally." A voice said. Sally's head jerked up from the magazine. She looked at Cream, who had her hand on her shoulder, a look of worry on her face that was slowly beginning to fade. "You ok?" Cream asked. Sally tossed the magazine back on the table. "Sorry." She said quietly. "Got lost in thought."

"Mrs. Acorn?" Another voice said from Sally's left. She turned her head and saw a man in a nice suit standing in a doorway, a similar look on his face; he walked out from the doorway and over to where Cream and Sally were. "Hi. My name is David Roberts, but you can call me David." He said, extending his hand. Sally stood up and tried to shake off the embarrassment. "Hi." She said, shaking his hand. He extended his hand to Cream and they shook hands as well. "Cream." The rabbit said.

"This way please." David said, gesturing over toward the door he had just came out of. Sally and Cream walked toward it and walked in; he followed right behind him. Sally and Cream squinted when they walked into his office. It had the same walls and lighting as the reception area, except the windows in here weren't tinted, letting in far more light. On the wall behind his desk hung various pictures, and what were either diplomas or degrees. His desk had the standard computer/family pictures/kick-knacks; nothing too special, save for one of those 'One a day' calendars.

"I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances." He said, grabbing the computer's mouse and moving it around on the desk. Then he reached into a drawer and pulled out a binder and laid it on the desk. "Now, do you have the deceased's DC?" He asked.

"I'm sorry?" Sally asked, unsure on what he meant. "Death certificate." He said. "Ah. No, I haven't picked it up yet. I can get it today." She said. He nodded. "If you can." David said, clicking the mouse and dragging it around on the desk again. Sally breathed a sigh of relief inside. "For right now, I'm going to ask you a few simple questions, get the basics out of the way, and then we can worry about that later." He said, clicking the mouse once more. "What is the deceased's name?" He asked Sally.

"Sonic." She replied. He started to type, but stopped and looked up at her. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open just slightly. "No... _the _Sonic?"

Sally nodded. He leaned back in his chair and let out a breath that seemed like it had been held forever. He shook his head, almost as if he was trying to shake off a bad dream. "I'm sorry." He said to Sally, who nodded her thanks. She thought. "God." David said. He shook his head again, trying to escape that dream once again. "I'm sorry." Sally wasn't expecting that reaction out of him when she mentioned his name. Sure, he was recognized as a hero to Mobius and had been thanked and appreciated as one who had done the things he had done, but it had been so long since the war had ended, his celebrity had all but faded. The only one's that took the time to thank him for what he had done were the one's who were still around that had lived through it, but that was only when he went out in public. He tended to shy away from the public eye, preferring to stay at home and even when he did go out, it was in remote places such as the country side with Sally or his friends. He preferred to stay away from large crowds, which made him nervous, although when he had no choice he could suck it up.

Sally nodded. "Thank you."

"What is his last name?" He asked, coming back to reality. "Acorn." She said with a hint of pride in her voice. He typed it into the computer.

He asked a few more general questions about Sonic then turned his attention to the binder on the desk. "I'll get the rest of that later." He said, grabbing the binder. On the front of it were the words 'Casket list.'

"Let's start with the casket." David said, handing Sally the binder. She laid it down in front of her on the desk and opened it, revealing three sections. "This first section here," David said, pointing at the first page, "are the basic line of caskets we offer." Most of the caskets pictured ranged anywhere from $800-$1200.

She flipped through that first section slowly, but not paying attention to it as David rattled off a few `strong points', which in reality were just BS terms. She already decided he wasn't going to have a cheap funeral. The next section was far nicer. The caskets from the first section were just plain, metal caskets, or covered in a cheap wood grain pattern to give them a nicer appearance; the insides covered in simple white cloth. But this second section was a lot nicer. Some had designs on the outside and even the most basic ones were darker colors with gold and chrome painted handles and hinges unlike the first section, which were just the basic seven colors and black painted handles.

These also came with silk liners and pillows, which could be engraved with the deceased's initials and added for a small fee. These were a little pricier than that first section: $1400-$2100. The third section, with a going rate of $3000-5000 was obviously the most expensive and were there to cater to the rich crowd that wanted to go out with style. There was even a 'Destroyer' themed casket, licensed by the band of the same name. She paid no attention any from the final section, save for the 'Destroyer' casket, which doubled as a beer cooler, had the band members autographs etched under their faces. It cost $20,000 and was made for 'the diehard Destroyer fan'.

She turned back to the more reasonable middle tier, and gave them another look over. "I'll take that one." She said after a minute. The one she chose was, fittingly, cobalt blue with faux gold handles; it cost $1700, not cheap, but not expensive compared to some of the others. David looked at the serial number above the picture and typed it into the computer, adding it to the order.

"Would you like to have a wake, church and gravesite service? We can offer you all three or you can choose any of the three. Our chapel holds groups of 50, or if you have a larger group, we can arrange to have services moved to another church if you wish." He said.

"The wake I'd like to have at the house after the service so the church and gravesite service will be fine." He typed that into the computer. "Will you be using our chapel?" He asked. Sally nodded that she would. "And will you be providing your own floral arrangements, or would you like us to handle that for you?" He asked. She said she'd handle that herself, and he confirmed her choice. "Okay- oop, almost forgot." He quickly moved the mouse around on the desk, clicking it a few times. "Would you like an open or closed service?"

"I don't know." She said after a short pause; she could feel the tears beginning to surface and her gaze lowered to the floor. Cream reached over and put a hand on Sally reassuring her that she wasn't alone in that moment.

There was a long pause as she mulled that thought around in her head. Could she handle it? Was that really how she wanted to remember him, lying in a box? What would Sonic want?

"Open." She said suddenly as if it was some grand revelation that hit her like a sack of bricks. David nodded and made the entry. "The last item is the obituary. Do you have one ready?" He asked. Sally shook her head. "I can bring one in tomorrow." She said. "That'll be fine." David said, clicking the mouse again. "Okay, all together, it's going to cost $5835."

Sally nodded. "I'll have the check ready by the end of the day." She said. In her head, she went through what she knew she had in their joint account and subtracted the cost of his service, which after deductions cut it in half. David nodded. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?" He asked. "No, thank you." Sally said, standing up and extending her hand.

Sally pulled the car up next to the curb and Cream climbed out. "Thanks for coming." Sally told her. Cream smiled. "No problem." She said. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me. See you later." She said, turning around and heading to the front door. Sally reached down and put the car back into gear and started to pull out onto the road, but stopped as she remembered the envelope for Tails and Cream.

"Cream!" Sally called out through the open passenger side window. Cream turned around and headed back to the car. "Yes?"

Sally reached down on the floor and grabbed her purse and rifled through it. "Where is it?" She whispered to herself as she dug through her purse. _Mental note: clean this thing out._ She thought as she dug straight to the bottom. "There you are." She said, grabbing onto the envelope and pulling it to the surface like treasure from a sunken ship. It had turned over and had been pinned underneath her wallet.

"I almost forgot," Sally said, handing the letter to Cream. "I found this in a box of his things." Cream took it and looked it over, then gave Sally a nod. "I'll see you later. Drive safe." She said and turned toward the house and went inside.

Even though she really hadn't done much at all that day, she felt exhausted. In fact, the last three days, she'd been feeling rather tired, but today was the first time it had hit this hard.

She chalked it up to all he running around she'd been doing that day and reached for her purse to get her keys, when all of a sudden her stomach lurched violently and everything started making it's way back out quickly. She scrambled for the door handle and was lucky enough to get it open before everything came up followed by a few dry heaves which were pretty violent; when that passed, she pulled her head back inside and reached for her purse again, this time to grab a few tissues she kept on hand for emergencies. "That was fun." She said, wiping her mouth and balling up the tissue, tossing it in the backseat.

She stopped by a convenience store and picked up a small lemon-lime soda and a sandwich. She guessed she had gotten sick from not eating much that day or the day before. Sally sat in the car and ate her lunch and when she was done she tossed them in the back, making a mental note to clean the car out later.

She headed over to the florist shop to pick up the flowers for the service. Most of what the shop offered was expensive and she really didn't feel like driving around more than she had to, so she settled on a bouquet of flowers, six roses, three red and three pink with a single white lily in the center. She wanted to get a wreath, but even the cheapest started at $90 bucks and she wasn't willing to pay that much for some flowers on a wire frame.

With that out of the way, her next stop was the bank. It was Wednesday and she was dreading the wait in line. She pulled up to the bank and like usual, had to drive around the block about three times until a space opened up. Naturally, she had to park on the corner and the farthest possible space from the building. She walked up to the front door, hoping the lines would be short. "Damn." She muttered when she saw what it was like inside. Unfortunately, it was just after lunch and there was only one teller on duty for ten people. Sally sighed and walked in and got in line.

After a few minutes of standing, another teller came out from one of the back rooms to relieve some of the pressure on the current teller and she breathed a sigh of relief as she moved over to the new line. _Thank God._ She thought. The new line moved swiftly, unlike the other one, where people kept asking stupid questions like, "Can I use my card in any ATM?"

Once she reached the counter, all she had to do was fill out a withdrawal slip for the amount she wanted, hand that to the teller along with her I.D. and bank card, get the O.K. from the manager, wait for them to get the amount she needed and she was done. Sally requested $6000, which once approved, the clerk brought out and counted to make sure it was all there, put it in a large, unmarked manila envelope along with a receipt and she was out of there.

She got back in the car and her stomach was still acting up and the fact she still had to trudge through the mall and pick up a suit didn't do well for her stomach or her aching feet. But if she got that done today, she had nothing to do tomorrow which made the end reward that much sweeter. She put the car in gear and as she started to pull onto the road and again, her stomach began to act up. She knew what was coming and reached for the door handle, but before she could open it, the sandwich and soda she had earlier came back up, splashing on the inside of the door and reflecting back on her. The first burst passed and she leaned back in the seat, regaining her breath. She managed to squeak out a "Oh, Shi-" before another wave hit her, this time emptying everything, followed by another series of dry heaving.

It passed in a minute and she leaned back in the seat, catching her breath. Sally grabbed a few more tissues and wiped her mouth, tossing them in the backseat. "Shit." She muttered, looking over at the mess she had to clean up now. Some of it splashed on her left side, soaking her in a warm, sticky mess which was rapidly cooling. The bulk of it had missed her, but now covered the window and had made it's way down the inside of the door and now rested between that half inch space between the seat and bottom of the door frame. The smell was getting more and more intense by the second, which made her stomach even worse. She rolled the windows down and headed for home as fast as she could.

She pulled into the driveway, glad she didn't have to wear the clothes she had on much longer. Even with the windows down, the smell was still powerful. She shut the engine off and got out, leaving the drivers side door open and went up to the house and walked through the front door. Checking quickly to make sure there wasn't any vomit on it, she set her purse down on the desk and pushed the door closed behind her. She immediately began to strip off her shirt and pants, which were now cold and sticky; luckily for her stomach the smell had subsided a little. She cracked the door open just enough where she could get an arm out and tossed them outside on the porch. "I'll get you later." She said as she went to change.

She wanted to jump in the shower, but she still had to deal with the inside of the car. With that in mind, she threw on the clothes she had worn yesterday then went into the kitchen to grab a bucket and a bottle of cleaner to deal with the mess in the car.

A short time later

"Why can't they make a pill that makes you feel like this all the time?" Sally asked herself as she draped the towel over the shower curtain to dry. Finally dry and feeling clean once again, she walked straight to her bedroom and changed into a clean shirt and pants. Dragging the pair of shoes she wore indoors out from underneath the bed with a foot, she sat down on the bed and pulled them on.

"Mmm." She moaned as another small wave of nausea passed over her. She stood up and went back into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet looking for something she could take for it like pink bismuth or those little chalky peppermint tablets. "Damn." She muttered as she closed the cabinet. _Of course I wouldn't have anything like that. That would make things easier._ She dreaded the fact that if she kept feeling sick, she'd have to get back in the car and drive into town and get something for her stomach which she didn't want to do. One, she didn't feel like driving unless she absolutely had to and two, she didn't want to take the chance of reupholstering the inside of the car again.

Her feet were killing her and she wanted to sit down, but still had to get the money from the bank out of the car along with the clothes off the porch and toss them in the washer. She sighed and dragged herself outside, going to the car and getting that stuff, then picking up the soiled clothes off the porch and taking them inside the house.

*Hulp* She grunted as she suppressed the urge to puke again, the smell causing her stomach to lurch slightly as she rushed them back to the washer, tossed them in, started the washer and shut the lid. Grabbing the soap, she measured a cupful and opened the lid quickly and tossed that in. _What else is gonna happen today?_ She thought as she headed back to the living room.

She had laid the cash over on the desk beside the front door and grabbed them, then went over to the couch and sat down. Grabbing the remote, she turned the TV on and flipped through the list until she came upon the 'Easy Listening' music channel that came with the satellite package. She had over 150 channels she could watch, but her favorites were the 30 music channels that came with it. Oh, she watched other things, but most of the time, the satellite's channel line up was re-runs.

The sounds of smooth jazz pumped through the TV's speakers and she set the remote down on the coffee table and turned her attention to the two envelopes she had gotten from the car. _At least those didn't get any of that._ She thought as she looked them over. Taking the envelope from the bank, she opened it and took the cash out and counted it; six thousand on the dot. They had never shortchanged her, but she still did a count every time, even though they did one right in front of her, then checked the receipt. 'Thank you for your business. Your account balance is $8,902.24.' Once she was satisfied that it was all there, she put it back in the envelope and put it on the coffee table.

Luckily for her, she still had a good amount saved up, but she knew it wouldn't last forever. Luckily, the house was paid off which took a load off of her financially. The only bill she had to worry about was the electric, which was usually low anyway and propane for the heater and hot water tank. Besides general upkeep on the house, gas for the car and buying food, she really had no expenses.

Income on the other hand was a problem. She and Sonic used her inheritance from her parents for the house and they had been living off his book royalties. Unfortunately, they had begun to come farther and farther apart; the last check had been half the amount they usually were. She went through her purse looking for her phone and saw the envelopes that Sonic had left for Shadow and Knuckles. "I completely forgot about you guys."

She took them out of her purse and laid them on the table. When she leaned back, another wave of nausea washed over her, although it was light and very brief. _Maybe I should go and get something for my stomach._

Logic dictated that everything she had in her stomach had come back up by now and having another incident like she had had earlier wasn't very likely. Even if it did happen, it would've most likely been dry heaving at the most so she decided to go ahead and take the risk. _Can't leave you here by yourself, now can I?_ She thought, reaching over and grabbing the envelope of cash.

A Short Time Later

"Mmm." Sally moaned lightly, her hand on her stomach as she stood in the health products isle. Even though everything in the convenience store was marked up twice as much as it would've been in a regular store, she didn't want to drive further than she had to; if it meant relief, she was willing to pay a little more. Looking at the products available, there were several choices. She grabbed a bottle of pink bismuth along with a couple rolls of those chalky antacid tablets, which she could take in case her stomach decided to act up between doses.

She also grabbed a few things she saw she needed, aspirin, fresh box of band-aids and toothpaste and took them to the counter. "$16.68" The clerk said. _Jeez. Just for all that? _She thought as she pulled her credit card out of her purse and swiped it through the machine. There was a short wait while everything was processed, and once it went through, the clerk bagged everything up for her. She already had the bottle open and took a swig, followed by a couple of the antacid tablets before she started the car.

By the time she got home, she had already finished off half the bottle but at least her stomach had settled down, which was a relief. It was already dark and getting cold when she pulled in to the driveway; when she got out of the car, she could see her breath. _Gonna be cold tonight. _She thought as she went inside. *whew* She shivered when she stepped inside. It was just as cold inside as it was outside. Sally locked the door and kicked the heater on. A few minutes later, warm air began to blow from the air vents.

There was a slight burnt smell coming out of the vents, but that always happened the first time the heater was turned on. It was the very first winter they had lived there and when Sonic turned the heater on for the first time and she smelled that burning smell, it scared her; she thought the heater had caught on fire. Sonic told her not to worry, but she insisted he call the repair guy to come out and have a look at it. "I don't know why you're worrying." He said as he picked up the phone, business card from the company in hand. "It's gone and I'm pretty sure if something was wrong, the house would be on fire right now or something." He argued.

"I don't care. Call them." She said, keeping an eye on the air vents. "I still smell something." She said. "Yeah, yeah." Sonic said under his breath as he dialed. The next day when the guy came out, he inspected it like normal. "It's just fine, folks." He said, putting the cover back on the unit. "Every new unit has that funny smell the first time they're activated." He put the final few screws in place, tightening them with a small power drill. "That's just the oil evaporating off some of the internal parts. Nothing to worry about. If the unit's heater isn't used for a certain amount of time, you're gonna get that smell." He said. That little visit cost them $250 bucks.

_That's better._ She thought as heat began to pump through the house. She set her purse down on the coffee table, then got the pillow and blanket she had been sleeping under and laid them on the couch.

That couch had been her temporary bed since she had come back. She couldn't bring herself to sleep in the bed, so the couch was the next best thing, besides getting a motel room; luckily, the couch was comfortable. Spreading the blanket out over the cushions, she laid the pillow at one end and turned the TV on, then turned the lights out and laid down. _That's the good stuff._ She though as she fully stretched out, her body relaxing for the first time that day. She was out within a few minutes.

The Next Day

"Thank you." The clerk said handing Sally her receipt. Sally stuck it in her pocket and grabbed the suit by the hangar sticking out of the top of the protective black plastic that covered the suit and draped it over her shoulder. The one she picked out was nice, black jacket and slacks with white undershirt and black tie. Coincidently, it bared a striking resemblance to the suit they had gotten married in, except the one she bought was straight black with no design and came with a black tie instead of a red one.

Once she was back out at the car, she laid it out on the backseat then went around and climbed in on the drivers' side. Once she was inside, she relished in the silence of the car. The mall had been unusually packed for a Tuesday, which made navigating through the crowd a headache. After taking a moment to rest, she pulled her phone out of her purse, papers and a few loose coins spilling out on the passenger seat. _Really need to clean this thing out._ She thought, making a mental note to clean it out later. Now the last stop was the funeral parlor to drop everything off. She had his suit in the backseat, his death certificate she had picked up from the coroner's office, the cash in her purse and the obituary for him in her purse; she had managed to write it out in less than ten minutes earlier that morning. She did argue with herself about including his real name in it, Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog. He hated the name and had been teased about it as a child, but it was a part of him and she included it.

After a short drive, she pulled up in front of the funeral home and went inside and up to the front desk. "Good afternoon." The woman said when she saw Sally walk in. "Hello. Is Mr. Roberts in today?" She asked. The woman looked at a paper off to the side of the computer. "Yes, but he's in a meeting with a client right now. What did you need to see him about?" She asked. "I had an appointment with him yesterday and I was supposed to drop something off for him."

The woman nodded. "Okay. Have a seat and I'll let him know you're here. What's your name?"

"Sally Acorn."

She nodded and Sally went to the chairs along the wall where she had sat yesterday and waited. The receptionist reached over and pushed a button on an intercom on her desk. "Mr. Roberts, there's a Sally Acorn here to see you. Says she has something to give to you." She released the button.

"Ah, yes." His voice came over the speaker. "I'll be with her shortly."

She pushed the button again. "Yes sir. I'll let her know."

"Mr. Roberts will be with you shortly." She said. Sally nodded and reached over for a magazine.

"All right. Let me know if there's anything else you need." Sally looked up and saw David holding the door to his office open for a couple as they walked out. The woman's eyes were red and puffy, a tissue in her hand. The guy, Sally assumed her boyfriend since she didn't see a ring on either of their hands, had his arm around her for comfort and support. "Drive safe." David said to them. The guy nodded his thanks as they walked out the front door.

"Sally." He said, noticing her sitting off to the side. She stood up and walked over. "Hi." She said. "Come in, come in." He said, holding the door open for her as she walked through the doorway. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"What was it you wanted to see me about?"

She reached into her purse and pulled out Sonic's death certificate and the obituary she'd written about him. "I'm just here to drop off what you asked for yesterday." She said, setting them on the desk. "Ah, yes." He said, grabbing all of it. He took hold of the mouse and moved it around on the desk, clicked it a couple of times, then started typing on the keyboard. "Acorn, was it?" He asked. "Mm-mm." Sally nodded.

He took the death certificate but didn't open it. "Can I get a copy of your husband's certificate for our records?" He asked. "Of course." Sally nodded. "But why?" She asked.

He opened the envelope and took it out. "We need a copy for our records, but we're required by law to ask permission from the family. Privacy matters and all that." He said. David laid the document on the desk and counted off a long sequence of letters and numbers. "497B-81CW-77A3." He typed them in and put the document back in the envelope, which he handed back to Sally. "This way, if the one we have on file is lost, we can use that to get another copy ourselves instead of contacting the family."

Sally nodded. "Did you bring a check or cash?" He asked. "Cash." She replied, opening her purse and pulling out the roll of bills, which she handed to him. He set them on the desk and clicked the mouse once more. Typing an amount into a calculator on his desk, he counted the cash she had given him, typed that into the calculator then wrote a number down on a slip of paper. "Hand that to Mary before you leave and she'll give you your change." David said. "You brought an obituary as well?" He asked. She nodded and passed that to him as well. "This should be in tomorrow's paper. Did you bring a suit?"

"Yes. It's in my car." She said. "All right, that takes care of what I needed..." He trailed off, clicking the mouse yet again. "Now that that's out of the way, let's see what we have available in terms of service times." He said. He looked the computer screen over. "We can do Thursday at ten a.m., Friday at noon and Saturday at eleven." He said.

"Friday is just fine." She said; he nodded and typed that in as well. "Okay." He said. "Besides his suit, that should do it. You said you brought it with you, right?" He asked. "Mm-mm." Sally nodded. "I'll run out and get it." She grabbed what she brought in off his desk and went out of the office and out to her car and grabbed it, along with a pair of underwear, socks and his shoes and brought them back inside the office. "Thank you." David said, standing up when he saw her re-enter his office. "Is there anything else you'll be needing today?" He asked. Sally shook her head no. "No. Thank you." She said.

"Thank you Mrs. Acorn. Have a nice day." He said and sat back down at his desk. She closed the door to his office and went back to the reception desk, the slip of paper he had written out to her in hand. "He said to give this to you." Sally said, handing her the slip of paper. She looked at it and turned around in her chair. When she turned back around, she handed Sally her change, $165.00. Sally thanked her, stuck the money in her purse and walked out to her car, the air cold as the day went on. As she opened the door to climb in, she felt a familiar feeling begin to creep up on her. _Better leave the windows down. _

_And so ends this chapter. Thanks for reading._


	32. Chapter 32 The Funeral

Chapter 32

As I write this, Thanksgiving will come and go, so, thinking about that I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and in case I don't get around to it, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Peaceful Kwanzaa. In case you don't celebrate Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa, Happy Tuesday. Enjoy the story and if you want, leave me a review.

The Funeral

"Mmm." Sally moaned quietly as she reached into the display case to grab a six pack of lemon-lime soda. Her stomach had started to act up again, although not to the extent that it had been yesterday. Luckily it had only been nausea up to this point and she hadn't thrown up; thankfully it was at a more subdued level this time around. Before she went home for the day, she managed to swing by a store to pick up another bottle of the pink bismuth, as well as a few alkaline seltzer tablets and headed to the cashier.

"Hello." The cashier, whose voice cracked in a particularly high pitched tone of voice. "Hello." Sally replied. "Did you find everything ok?" He asked, dragging the soda across the scanner. _Why are they always rough with those_? "I sure did." Sally replied. The cashier pulled everything across the scanner, and typing a few keys on the register's keypad. "Okay, that'll be $9.83."

Sally handed him a twenty from her purse and he tapped a few more buttons and handed her the change. "$10.17 is your change." He said and handed it to her, then began bagging what she bought. "Thank you." She said, grabbing the bags and heading out to her car. Once inside, she grabbed the bottle of bismuth and took a drink, not even bothering to measure, then recapped the bottle and set it back inside the bag. The viscous pink liquid made it's way down her throat, settling in her stomach and providing much needed relief within a minute. "Thank God." She said, letting out a sigh of relief as she put the key in the ignition. _Now if I can make it home without throwing up, I'll be doing good._

"Talk to you later." Sally said, and hung the phone up. Even though it was only half past four, the sun was already starting to set and the house's heater had been kicking on and off more frequently as the temperature dropped, trying to keep the inside of the house warm. She had one more number left to call, which was Shadow. Just as she was about to dial his number, a loud *grrrrr* erupted from her torso and she placed a hand on her stomach. _Maybe I should make something to eat._ She thought. _Then again, I might just throw it up later on._ That worried her.

After she'd thrown up in the car yesterday, she hadn't eaten anything out of fear she'd just do the same thing. But she knew she just couldn't go without anything. _To hell with it. If I throw it up later, I'll throw it up later._ She thought, getting up off the couch and heading into the kitchen. She got to the fridge and took inventory. Mostly standard foodstuffs like bologna, cheese and various leftovers. While she was hungry, she wanted something that would be easy on her stomach. _Damn._ She thought, her eyes darting around the refrigerator. Then she spotted a bag of lettuce and grabbed that; a salad made sense. It was quick, didn't require any cooking and, it was easy on the stomach. Along with the lettuce, she grabbed a tomato, the half block of cheese and shut the fridge, along with a jar of olives from the cupboard.

It was a pretty basic salad. Other than cutting up the tomato and cubing a small chunk of the cheese, the rest of it was done with her hands, even the olives, which when crushed added extra flavor thanks to the release of the precious oil stored within. Washing her hands and grabbing a bottle of dressing, she drizzled a small amount over the greens and added a small pinch of black pepper, stuck the dressing back in the fridge and sat on the couch to enjoy her dinner.

_Here goes nothing._ she thought as she stuck a fork into the bowl and took a bite. As it traveled down her throat, she waited for her stomach to act up, but it remained quiet. Satisfied she wasn't going to throw up at the moment, she finished the salad off, grabbed her phone and called Shadow.

"The number you are trying to reach is unavailable." A computerized voice said when the other end did finally pick up. _Damn._ Sally thought. "Please leave your name and number at the tone." *beep*

"Hey Shadow, it's Sally. Just letting you know that Sonic's funeral is going to be this Friday at noon. Talk to you later." She hung up and set the phone down on the coffee table.

She tried to watch a little TV, but she found her head beginning to dip and she decided to call it a day. Getting off the couch, she grabbed the blanket and pillow out of the closet next to the front door and spread them out, pulling back one corner and crawling between them. She didn't even get to finish what she was watching as she fell asleep in a few minutes.

Wednesday

Sally yawned as she opened her eyes to find sunlight filling the room. Looking up at the clock, she saw it was just a little after eight. _Least I didn't sleep in._ she thought as she sat up. Another plus was that her stomach felt better.

After hitting the bathroom, she made herself a cup of coffee, cream and two sugars, and sat back down on the couch. Grabbing the remote, she turned the TV on which was tuned to the morning news.

"...top headlines from overnight." A voice said when the sound kicked in. "Thank you Tom. In case you're just waking up, here's the stories that happened while you were sleeping." The female reporter said while the words 'WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING' flashed across the screen.

"Around one this morning, police and firefighters were summoned to the 1400 block of Cyprus Avenue in Eastern Station Square to a report of a building fire." The screen cut to video of a huge warehouse on fire, surrounded by police and two firefighters working the hose, aiming it through one of the burnt out windows; another firefighter stood off to the side barking orders, but there was no sound. "The blaze broke out in the old Station Square Glass Works building. The building which celebrated it's 100th birthday recently, had been placed on the city's Registrar of Historic Buildings. The chief investigator doesn't suspect foul play was a factor in the fire, but there is no official word on the cause of the blaze. There was no damage to any of the surrounding area, but the structure is a complete loss, with damages estimated at well over $50,000."

The camera cut back to the reporter. "Station Square Police Department is asking for the public's help in capturing the man known as 'The Sandwich Bandit'. For the past several weeks, police have been receiving reports of a man breaking into peoples homes and making sandwiches. Up until now, no one had a clue as to who the man is, that is until now." The camera cut to a black and white video of a man standing at a counter in a kitchen.

"Thanks to security cameras one lucky citizen installed in his house, police have identified the 'Sandwich Bandit', 32 year old Edward Williams. It is believed Mr. Williams had broken into at least 20 homes over the past three weeks. According to reports, he would break into a house, make a sandwich, eat it then proceed to clean up what he had used, then leave a note saying, 'I'm sorry, but I was hungry. I did not take anything. I only made a sandwich.' Police are calling it one of the most bizarre cases they've ever seen. Anyone with information is urged to call the Station Square Police Dept. at 1-041-216-2012."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sally said laughing slightly in disbelief; the camera once again cut back to the reporter. "And finally, some sad news to report this morning. We've found out just this morning that acclaimed author and former Freedom Fighter veteran Sonic the Hedgehog had died. Sonic was the first recipient of the Mobian Five Star Cross for his bravery and his efforts in the war against Dr. Ivo Robotnik." Sally's jaw almost hit the floor as video of Sonic came on the screen of him receiving the medal which she herself had presented to him several years ago. "After the war, he became a writer, having written the popular 'Misery' series which have all gone on to become best-sellers. He is survived by his wife, who according to sources is Sally Acorn, former head of the Mobian Royal Family." The camera once again cut back to the female anchor, who was now facing slightly to her right side. "That'll do it for your overnight news stories, now let's go back to the news desk with Tom and Stephanie."

"Thank you Alicia. Well, it's been reported that sugar has been..."

Later That Day

"C'mon." Sally muttered as her hands worked vigorously to remove a piece of food that was stuck on one of her good glass dinner plates. The metal scouring pad she had in her hands was almost at it's limit and was barely doing it's job. _Need to pick up a few more of these._ She though as the stubborn morsel of food finally gave up it's grip, falling off with one last swipe and into the soapy abyss below. Rinsing the plate under cold water, careful not to bang it against the side of the sink or the faucet itself, she gently set it inside the drainer and shut the water off. Satisfied with the results, she untied the apron around her waist and hung it on a hook, letting out a sigh as she gave her work one last look over. _This kitchen is clean._ She thought with a smile on her face. It only took no more than ten minutes, sweeping and mopping the floor included since she kept the house pretty much spotless most of the time, cleaning was always a breeze. But today was different.

Even though she hadn't done much, she felt tired and drained of all her energy, like her body had been in overdrive all morning. "Aaaahhhhhhhh." She yawned as she walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room, plopping down on the couch as soon as she was able to sit down. "Mmmmm." She moaned. _It's only noon. How the hell am I this tired? _She wondered as she clicked through the channels, looking for something to watch; she felt like she hadn't slept all night.

"Maybe I-" *Ring* Sally set the remote down and grabbed her phone. It was Tails. "Hello?" She said, holding the phone up to her ear. "Sally?" Tails asked. "Hey kiddo." She said, perking up a little when the fox spoke. "What's up?"

"Are you watching the news?" He asked.

"No. Why?" She asked.

"You might want to check it out. Channel 13." He said. "And make sure you're sitting down."

Sally grabbed the remote and tuned the TV to the channel he told her. The screen, once the picture came up, showed a group of people gathered at the largest park in Station Square. Some of them were holding hands, some were crying; some showed no emotions at all.

"...a late breaking story." A male's voice said when the sound caught up. "What you're looking at now is a live action shot of Huber Park in downtown Station Square." Sally leaned forward as the camera continued to show a wide shot of the crowd gathered, then it turned toward a gazebo that the group was standing around. At the bottom of one of the stairs leading up to the gazebo's deck was some kind of memorial; the camera was too far away to get a clear picture of what or who it was for. "We go live to our reporter, Alicia Williamson, who is live on the scene. Alica?" The same male's voice said.

The camera cut to the same woman that had mentioned Sonic's death. "Tom, I'm standing in the middle of Huber Park with about a hundred people who've from what I've been told is a makeshift memorial for Sonic the Hedgehog. One of the attendees I talked to a few minutes ago said this was put together shortly after we reported his death earlier this morning. I managed to talk to the man who started this and when I asked him why he set this up, he told me that it was his own way to show respect for someone who did so much for so many and that it just snowballed from there. As you can see," The camera panned around to the memorial to get a closer shot. "admirers and mourners have been pouring by here since nine this morning, stopping by and placing flowers or cards of thanks at this gazebo."

The camera zoomed into a close up of the makeshift memorial that had been set up. It was a picture of Sonic and it was surrounded by flowers and cards, although the writing was too small to make out even with the camera zoomed in on it. "I'll talk to you later." Sally said to Tails quietly as she hung up. Her arm dropped to her side as if she'd lost the ability to hold it up under her own power. Sally turned the TV off and fell over on the couch, tears streaming down her face.

"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH!" She screamed, lifting her head off the couch cushion that had been stained with her tears. "Aaaaahhhhhh!" Another deep, guttural moan emerged from deep within her body as her head hit the cushion again, tears continuing to roll. "Mmmmrrruuughhh!" She screamed yet again, this time muffled by the cushion.

Ten minutes later

Sally lifted her head off the couch as a few 'aftershocks' passed through her body. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she got up and grabbed a paper towel from the kitchen and dried her face as best she could, tossing it in the garbage. She gazed out the window above the sink. Outside it was a nice, yet odd day for that point in the season, sun shining brightly, large clouds hanging in the sky and the grass as green as a spring day, although in a couple of weeks that grass would go dormant for the winter. Sally went to the sliding glass door and slid it open, the cold air rushing past her and into the house. She stepped out onto the porch and down onto the deck, past the grill that Sonic had bought and had only gotten to use twice.

Off to the left, down about 200 feet from the house was the creek that ran through their property where her and Sonic had spent many a summers day and night staring up at the sky or stars lying on a small hill that was just big enough to seat them both. Sally walked down toward it and as she got closer, memories of him were still dancing around in her head; although this time they were much happier memories and she smiled as she sat at the top.

As she looked out at the grassy meadow that seemed to stretch on for miles, the foothills off in the distance, the creek babbled as the water flowed through it like the blood of the earth. _No don't!_ Sally yelled in her mind as a memory of Sonic pushing her into the cold water years ago flashed through her mind and left as quickly as it had come.

She turned her gaze up to the sky, clouds drifting lazily by, like big puffy marshmallows. That moment could be like any other time they had come out to this particular spot they claimed as their own, only this time she knew he wasn't coming.

Yet, sitting there on that hill brought her comfort and warm memories of them together in happier times began to replace the sadder ones, she began to calm down and the sadness within her began to fade, then disappearing altogether. It was almost as if he was there with her in that moment.

Friday

_What time is it?_ Sally thought as she opened her eyes that morning. "10:19?" She muttered as she sat up on the couch, tossing the blanket aside. _I can't believe I actually got to sleep._ It hadn't come easy to her. She had slept on and off most of the night, more the former than the latter. She walked into the bathroom and splashed a little water on her face to wake up, which did the trick. "Better."

After finishing up, she went to the small linen closet which now housed her clothing and pulled out what she was going to wear that day for his service. An ankle length black dress with white ruffle around the edges which Cream had helped her pick out yesterday. *ring*

She picked her phone up off the coffee table and answered it. "Hello?"

"Is this Mrs. Acorn?" The voice on the other end asked. "Yes." She said. Who is this?"

"This is David from Eternal Rest Funeral Parlor." He said.

"Hi. What can I do for you?" She asked.

"I'm calling to let you know that due to unforeseen circumstances, we're not going to be able to offer you our chapel for your husband's service. A few of the water pipes busted overnight and it flooded the entire Chapel. We tried to get you in at another place, but we just didn't have the time to find another Chapel. Of course, we will reimburse you fully for those charges, we just won't be able to have the chapel service. Is there a time you'd like to have the... body delivered to the gravesite?" He asked in an uncomfortable tone. Sally let out a sigh. "What time is it now?" She said, looking over at the clock. "Noon I guess."

"Alright. I'll inform our driver. Allow me to extend my deepest apologies for the inconvenience." He said.

_Why today of all days?!_ "Thank you for letting me know." She said and hung up. She started to put her phone down and get dressed when it rang again. "Hello?" She said. "Hi Sally." It was Cream. Sally noticed her usual chipper voice somber. "Did you want to go over with me and Tails or were you going to take your car?" Cream asked; Sally thought about it for a second. "I'll meet you guys at your place. The parlor called me a minute ago. You know what they told me?" She asked Cream.

"What?" Cream asked. "A few of the pipes in the Chapel busted last night and now the whole thing is flooded." Sally said. "You're kidding?" She said. Sally could picture the look on her face and laughed a little; some of the anger she was feeling subsided. "No. But they said there going to reimburse me for that, so now we just... drive over to the cemetery." Sally let out a sigh. "Is Knuckles still going with you guys?" She asked, trying to get her mind off of it's current thought path. "Yeah. He said he's going to meet us here at the house and ride over with us. Shadow too." Cream said. "Really? He's going to ride with us?" Sally asked. That really wasn't like him. For someone like Shadow that could match Sonic's speed, he could easily get there faster than any of them. Then again, a lot had changed in a year.

"Okay. I guess I'll meet you guys over there. I should be getting out of here in about twenty minutes. So how's Tails?" She asked, putting the phone on speaker.

"I don't know. He's been crying on and off most of the night. He didn't get much sleep and he spent most of the morning down in his lab working on that plane of his. I didn't know what to do, so I just let him be for a while. I hope he can make it through this." Cream said. "He'll be fine. He was closer to Sonic than any of us were, and it's not going to be easy on him." Sally said as she pulled her shirt over her head. "It's going to take some time, but he'll make it through this."

"I hope so." Cream said.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower and head on over there. I'll see you guys there." Sally said. "Alright." Cream said.

Sally hung upand headed for the shower. _God I hope we can make it through today._

"That should just about do it." She said, tossing the pair of black mid-heel pumps she had bought into a bag, along with some of her make-up in case what she had on started to run and she needed to do a quick touch up, which was a certainty given what lay ahead. _I'll slip those on before we head out._ No sense in wearing them until she had to. Grabbing her purse, phone and a few other important items, she grabbed her keys off the hook on the wall and went out to her car. Sliding in, she set it in the passenger seat, started the engine, backed out of the driveway and headed off.

Sally pulled up to their house and shut the engine off. She checked herself in the mirror, making sure her make-up hadn't ran on the drive over. She had a small crying jag, but it had been a mostly dry run and her make-up checked out. Just as she was about to step out of the car, her phone rang. "Damn." She muttered as it moved around, shifting behind her wallet and other papers.

"Hello?" She said when she finally found it. "Good morning. My name is Steve and I'm calling from Blue Diamond Catering. Is this Sally Acorn?" He asked. "Yes it is."

"I'm calling to let you know that you're order is ready and we need to know if you were going to be picking it up personally or if you wanted it delivered."

"Delivered." She said.

"Just to let you know, delivery comes with a surcharge of ten dollars."

"Fine. Just put it on my card." She said, getting out of the car. "Very good. When would you like us to deliver your order?"

"Do we really have to do this right now?" Sally asked through teeth that were beginning to clench tighter and tighter.

"I'm sorry ma'am. If this isn't a good time I can-"

"I'll call and let you know." She said bluntly, her feelings made clear to him.

"Of course." He said. "Just let us know where you want us to deliver it and we'll have it out to you."

"Alright." She said. "Thank you and I'm sor-." _Nice day my butt._ Sally stuck her phone back in her purse again and walked up to the door and knocked. Off to the side, she could see the curtain part, then the sound of a lock opening two seconds later. It was Cream. The first thing Sally noticed was the dress she was wearing. Dark red with white trim which reached down to her ankles, almost the same style as Sally's. "Hi Sally." Cream said, stepping forward and giving Sally a hug. "Hi Cream." Sally replied, walking inside. She spotted Tails sitting on the couch and gave him a wave, but he barely lifted his head. "I knew that dress would fit you." Cream said as Sally walked inside and sat down on their couch next to Tails. "Thanks. Yours isn't bad." Sally replied. "Thanks." Cream said. "I'm gonna go finish getting ready." She said giving her boyfriend a pat on the shoulder before she disappeared to the back.

"Hi Tails." Sally said softly. She noticed right off the bat that he had been crying and from the looks of it, it had been bad. His fur was messy and uncombed, like he hadn't groomed himself in several days, which was unlike him. "Hi." He whispered; his voice was raspy, no doubt from his intense bouts of screaming and crying which she guessed were even greater than what she'd experienced; he didn't even bother to look up at her as she spoke to him. She also noticed his shoes were untied and the tux he was wearing was unbuttoned, white undershirt he was wearing dotted with tears.

"You OK?" She asked, scooting closer to him and putting her arm around him. _"No."_ He whispered and instead of accepting the gesture, he pulled away from her. He was shaking too, almost on the verge of tears yet again. "I know you miss him. I do. We all do." She said. He nodded, tears beginning to flow now. _"Why?"_ He said in that low whisper that Sally didn't catch. "What, hon?" Sally asked.

He turned toward her for the first time since she'd gotten there and the look on his face caused her to almost lose it. Gone was the innocent, wide-eyed kit she knew. The look on his face said it all. He was in an agony that compared to hers only scratched the surface. Then he said something that sent a chill down her spine. "Why did it have to be him Aunt Sally!?" he said as he turned his gaze on her. Tears began rolling down his cheeks and his lip began quivering before he fell against her, burying his muzzle into her shirt. Heaving sobs emanated from him that were loud even though they were muffled.

Aunt Sally. He hadn't called her by that name in years. The last time he'd called her that he was six and they still did the 'funny kiss'. "I don't know." She said through strained words, trying to keep from breaking down herself. Sally looked up and saw Cream watching from the hallway, a pained look on her face. Suddenly, he stopped crying as if his emotions were shut off with the flick of a switch and in a few seconds, he reverted back to the state he'd been in when Sally arrived. "I'm sorry." Tails said, embarrassed he'd let his emotions explode like that in front of her.

"It's alright, hon." Sally said softly. "It'll be okay." Tails nodded and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Cream walked over and put her arm around him while Sally withdrew hers. She felt something running down her face and reached up and touched her cheek. When she pulled it away, her fingertip was covered in mascara. _I need to go take this stuff off._ She thought. _It's not gonna look good having black lines running down my face for the next couple of hours._ She though as she stood up. "Can I use your bathroom?" Sally asked Cream, who had sat down next to Tails, who nodded. "Second door on the right."

Sally nodded her thanks and grabbed the bag she brought and headed off. Once she was inside, she set the bag up on the small counter and took out the remover, a small clear jar filled with what looked like vanilla pudding, unscrewed the cap and dipped a finger inside. _I guess he's been having it pretty rough._ She thought as she worked the cream around her eyes to get the mascara that had run off. Turning the tap on, she let the water run until it was warm, then washed off the remover and reached into the bag to grab her blush to replace what had come off.

As she opened the compact and grabbed the brush, there was a knock at the door. "Open." She said as she dipped the brush into the powder and began to apply it to her cheeks. Cream walked in and shut the door. "Need me to move?" Sally asked. "No. You're fine." Cream said, walking over and lowering the lid to the toilet and sitting down. "How long has he been like that?" Sally asked, sticking the compact back in the bag and checking out the results in the mirror. "Couple of days now." Cream said. "It was like this right after Sonic died. The night after, I didn't think he'd ever stop screaming." Cream said.

Sally put the compact back in the bag and leaned against the sink. "Yeah. I can't even imagine what's going through his head right now." She said, letting out a sigh. "It's not going to be easy on him, but he'll get over it."

Cream nodded. "I just hope he can make it through the service. I-" *knock knock* Sally reached over and opened the door and Tails was standing on the other side. "Shadow and Knuckles're here." He said quietly, then walked away.

Cream nodded and Sally grabbed the bag and walked out into the living room where Knuckles and Shadow were. They were both dressed in the standard black suit, black tie and white undershirt which they wore very well. Knuckles gave her a hug followed by Shadow, which surprised all of them. _"Thank you."_ She whispered to both of them and sat down.

"How you doing Sally?" Knuckles asked. "Holding on." She said with a smile. "You?" She asked. "Bout the same." He replied. "I keep hoping this is a dream and I'm gonna wake up in a minute, you know?"

Cream nodded. "How's the kid doing?" Shadow asked. "Okay for now, I hope. He was up all night last night." Cream said in a hushed voice. "It's almost noon." She said, looking up at the clock. "I'm gonna go make sure he's ready then I guess we'll head out." Cream got up and left the others alone.

"He's had it pretty rough, huh?" Shadow asked. Sally nodded. "Ye-"

"No! I don't want to go!" The sound of Tails' voice could be heard coming from a room in the back of the house.

_That can't be good._ Sally thought as they all turned their heads toward the source of the noise. But that was the only outburst as silence fell through the house. A few minutes later, Cream came out. "We should go." She said quietly. The others nodded and stood up, then Tails came out from his room and headed straight out the door and to their car without saying a word to any of them. He was dressed, but he was in rough shape. Cream turned toward Knuckles and Shadow. "Knuckles, can you ride with me and Tails?"

"No problem." He said. "I'll ride with you Sally." Shadow said. She nodded and they headed out to their respective cars.

"_Oh God."_ Sally whispered to herself as she spotted the cemetery off in the distance. It was a rather large plot of land even for a cemetery which was just outside the Station Square city limits. The closer they got, she noticed some of the headstones resembled statues more than headstones. Those belonged to the ones who had the money to spend, but there were simpler headstones as well. Like the type that just came up a foot or two from the ground, along with the ones that were simply laid in the ground. Off in the distance in the third plot, Sally could see the canopy that had been set up, along with Sonic's casket sitting under it and a person sitting beside it who Sally guessed was the minister and a few chairs.

"T-there it is." She said in a shaky voice, a few tears escaping. Cream slowed down and made the turn onto the cemetery's access road and Sally followed right behind her. As they stopped even with the canopy that had been set-up, Sally shut the engine off and when she went to open the door, tears were rolling down her face. _"You ready?"_ She asked in a whisper.

"Yeah." He replied, the first he'd spoke during the ride over and they climbed out. Cream and Knuckles had done the same, with the exception of Tails who was crying again. Cream knelt down in front of him, trying to console him again. "How bad is it?" Shadow asked Knuckles who was standing at the back of Cream's car. "Bad." He said bluntly. The whole drive over, he was all misty y'know, but once we got to where he could see this place he started loosing it."

Sally glanced over at Tails, who was in another fit. _Surprised he's got anything left in him._ She thought as she watched the kit; she was surprised that she herself hadn't shown more emotion than she had so far "You think he'll be able to get through this?"

"I don't know. He's really out of it." Knuckles said.

Then, just like before, Tails stopped crying and got out of the car, although he needed a little assistance from Cream. It was so odd to see how quickly his emotions came and went; it was as if they were like water flowing from a faucet that kept turning on and off.

"You ok?" Sally asked Tails who managed a weak nod and a 'Nngh."

"Alright." She said, turning to her left. "Let's go."

They all stepped onto the grass at the same time, maneuvering around the headstones that had been inlaid into the ground as they made their way to where Sonic's casket was. Even though the lid was open they couldn't see his body or at least none of them wanted to. The casket itself sat upon heavy nylon straps that were connected to four braces that sat on the ground, suspending it over the open grave; a motor off to the side would be triggered to lower it into the ground.

Once they were seated, the minister stood up and walked over to them. He was a younger man who looked to be in his mid to late 20's, wearing a black robe and sporting the traditional white collar around his neck. "Are you with the family?" He asked his voice, quiet and soothing.

_You could say that._ "I'm his wife." Sally said.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I know you're not the only ones that are mourning his loss today." He said. "How many others are coming?"

"It's just the four of us." Sally said.

The minister looked at them and nodded. "I'll go ahead and get started."

With such a small group, it would take at the most twenty minutes, unlike with a larger group which could take an hour at minimum. "Death," he began as he cleared his throat, "is never an easy thing. But, it is an inevitable fate we all intertwined to share and know... we cannot escape from. It is scary; it is heartrending. But... even though the people we love leave us, we should not focus on the fact that they're gone, no. We should focus on the life they lived and the legacy they've left behind. Remember them for who they are, not how they passed. Do not let your heart settle on the fact they are gone. Instead, remember them as they were; how they lived."

Tails again started to sob, although it was those quiet sobs, and in turn, made a few roll down Sally's face as well. Then the tears began to flow freely. She didn't try to hold anything back as she leaned into Shadow who was sitting next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and she pulled toward him closer.

"People ask me, 'How do I live with the fact that I'm still here?'" He stopped to take a breath and let it out slowly. "I always tell them the same thing. 'They're not gone. If you keep there memory alive here," the minister pointed at his head, "and here," he said, placing a hand over his heart, "they will never truly be forgotten, for they will live on in you."

He turned away from them and took a few steps to his right toward the chair he had been sitting in and spoke to the five of them. "If anyone wants to come up and say their final goodbyes, please feel free to do so." The minister said and sat down.

Sally leaned forward slightly and looked at the others, who were each doing the same thing, wondering who was going to be the first to bite the bullet. "I'll go first." Knuckles said as he stood up. He pulled on the bottom of the black jacket of his tux and slowly walked toward the casket.

Once he was standing beside it, he placed a hand on the lip and leaned ever so slightly forward. Sally and the others watched as they noticed his mouth moving, but he was speaking in to low a tone for them to hear. Knuckles' head bowed down and they saw his shoulders moving up and down as he reached into the casket and placed a hand on Sonic with his right and with his left, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled an object out. It was some kind of necklace or talisman and he reached in with both hands, no doubt fastening it around Sonic's neck. He took a step back, bowed his head slightly and turned around.

The red echidna walked back to his seat, sobbing ever so slightly, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Cream leaned over and whispered something in Tails' ear and he nodded slowly; the two of them stood up, Cream giving him a hand. The fox was in miserable shape; his face streaming the tears he had been shedding all day. His stance was shaky and every step seemed to be taken as if he feared his bones would snap under his sixty pound frame.

The two slowly approached the casket next and as soon as the fox peered inside and right on cue, he broke down, almost hitting the ground as his knees seemed to give away but Cream managed to hold him up. He turned into Cream, who was looking down into the casket. It was hard to watch the fox have to suffer this kind of pain, but if he didn't do it here, it was likely that it would come back to haunt him later on down the line.

Sally and the others watched as Tails stepped forward and leaned in and, in the saddest yet most touching thing she had ever seen, the kit gave his brother a kiss on the forehead and even though he said nothing, Sally saw his mouth form the words, "I love you." He turned to Cream and nodded, then they both made their way back to their seats and sat down, sobbing silently yet just audible enough to be heard.

"_Hand these to him."_ Sally said in a whisper, reaching into her purse and taking out a small cellophane wrapped package of tissues and handed them to Shadow, who passed them down to Knuckles. "Cream." Knuckles said quickly, handing them to her but not before taking a few for himself. Cream nodded her thanks to Sally as she took a couple and handed the package back to Sally, drying the eyes of the weeping fox.

Shadow was next to bid farewell. He walked up to the casket and looked down at Sonic. The black hedgehog's head bowed slightly and he closed his eyes, remembering Sonic in his own way. When he opened them, he nodded, patted the side rail of the casket and walked back over to his seat and sat down. Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath as it was her turn. _You can do this._ she thought to herself as she stood up, hands shaking.

Sally slowly shuffled to the side of his casket, her heart pounding. When she finally saw him, she immediately broke down. "Oh... God." She mumbled, her voice straining to he be heard through pained sobs. She leaned down and put a hand on his face, his skin and fur cold to the touch. He also had a 'plastic' like feeling to him. Sally wept as she lovingly stroked the side of his face and reached over and straightened the tie around his neck. "You look good." She said out loud, a few tears landing on his black jacket. "I miss..." she didn't finish her sentence as the lump in her throat cut her off.

She stood there for several seconds just staring at him, hoping it was a practical joke and he would open his eyes and say, "Got ya!" but she knew, no matter how much she hoped that would happen, it wouldn't. Another burst of tears and sobs came out and she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. _"I love you and I always will." She whispered through sobs. She stood up and wiped her tears off his face and slowly turned around and sat back down._

"_Nnngh..." She moaned as she leaned forward in her seat and buried her head in her hands and continued to weep; Shadow reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. _

"_Before we commit his body to the ground, I'd like to ask you to join me in a short prayer." The minister bowed his head and the others followed suit. "Oh Lord, we ask that you watch over Sonic as you call him home to be with you. Please give his family the strength to make it through this difficult time and watch over us now and in the hour of our death. In your name we pray, Amen."_

_The minister reached over and flicked a switch for the motor to lower Sonic's casket into the ground and it began to lower it into the ground and the others watched with misty eyes as he was put into his final resting place._

_A/N: I hope this doesn't upload with large chunks of it italicized or the entire thing underlined like it's done in the past. If anything like that happens, it's not me putting it in there personally, it's probably got something to do with the fact my computer is still running Windows 98. Yeah, I want to get a new one, but I just don't have the cash, or I'd have done it a long time ago. Also, I'm going to look over 'Misery' again and try to take out that chapter that was all underlined for some reason and also fix the one's that have the large chunks of it italicized for no reason. I don't know why that happened like I said, but it was hilarious. I'm also going to fix what spelling errors were in it as well as make some minor adjustments like improving sentences and words, but leave the story unchanged otherwise. I hope you enjoy this one and even though this one took me a little longer to hammer out than usual, I really enjoyed writing it. Thank you and please leave a review if you can. They really help out._


	33. Chapter 33: Return to Metropolis

Chapter 33: Return to Metropolis

A/N: Well, here it is. I have not had a chapter give me as much trouble as this one had. I apologize to everyone that has been waiting for this so let me explain what happened; I'll try to make this quick. First, I had a good case of writer's block for three or four weeks, which was frustrating. Second, I had to change the letters Sonic wrote for everyone into DVD's. I wanted to use letters, but having a visual medium for the characters to see and react to made expressing their emotions much easier instead of a piece of paper. There were a few other things that kept delaying this, but these were the main reasons. I hope you like this chapter. I went through a lot and I mean a lot of re-writes with this one and this was the best one that I could come up with. I know I've said that many times before, but it's never applied to a chapter so much as this one. Thank you for listening and again, apologies for the long wait. I hope I'll be able to get the next chapter out much sooner. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review and please, be honest. It's not going to hurt my feelings.

"Goodnight Sally." Shadow said as he turned halfway towards Sally, who was standing just inside the doorway.

"Goodnight Shadow." Sally said quietly as she shut the door behind him, leaving him standing alone in the darkness. He stepped off the porch and walked out to the side of the road, the envelope Sally had given him before he left rustling slightly in his pocket. Shadow closed his eyes and with a picture of ARK in his mind, he took a deep breath and said, "Chaos control." There was a quick burst of light and when he opened his eyes, he was on board the space station he called home.

*Nnngh* Shadow shuddered as he opened his eyes to reveal the bridge of ARK, his body tingling from the experience as it always did after every teleportation he did. The bridge, which now only served as a large monitoring station for the major systems onboard were now controlled by a single computer thanks to Tails' computer skills which he looked over as he had done every time he came back onboard.

"Looks good." he muttered, checking over a report on the stations various systems, all of which reported to be working at normal levels. Now that that was out of the way, Shadow reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope from his pocket. Before he even opened it, he saw the outline of something hard and square making the envelope bulge just slightly. He ran a finger underneath the glue strip and opened it, taking its contents out. It was a slim jewel case containing a DVD. "That's odd." Shadow muttered as he opened the computer's disc drive, inserted it and closed the door.

The drive hummed as it read the disc and when it started, the screen showed a still image of Sonic, sitting on his bed in his house. The black hedgehog knew it more than likely had something to do with Sonic, but when he saw him on the monitor, a sudden tingle ran down his spine. "Hey Shads." Sonic said as the disc suddenly started playing.

Sonic let out a sigh. "Look... I know things haven't always been the best they could've been between us and I know I was an ass on more than one occasion. But, I want you to know, despite all I've said about you and all those times we've had it out, I've always had respect for you even if I didn't show it; I was just too stubborn to admit it." Sonic paused to take a breath, then continued.

"You've been a good friend and I'll always be thankful to you for that. I suppose since I'm gone it'll be up to you and the others to fight off whatever comes your way, Robotnik or otherwise." Sonic's face lit up with that smile he almost always had. "I know you and the others will be able to handle whatever comes your way without me no problem, although, I don't like the fact I'm not gonna be there to get in a few licks myself." Sonic shifted around on the bed and sighed.

"I guess that's about it, but uh... before I wrap this up, I do have a favor to ask you." Sonic's gaze turned to the ground; he licked his lips and looked back at the camera. "Take care of Sally for me. If anyone could, I know it'd be you." Sonic cleared his throat and let out a small laugh. *heh* "Guess I'd better be wrapping this up. I'll see you around... Shadow." Sonic finished speaking, then the screen flickered a couple of times and the computer ejected the DVD.

That night when Knuckles got home, he sat down in his chair and took out the envelope Sally had given him out of his pocket. Earlier that night, she'd pulled him off to the side, away from the others and handed him an envelope with his name on it. "You might want to open this when you get home." That was all she told him before she went back to join the others.

He clicked a lamp on and ran a finger underneath the seal, breaking it. He reached inside and pulled out a slim jewel case containing a DVD. "Huh..." Knuckles mused as he took it out of the case and turned on the DVD player, plopping the disc inside before closing it. The player began whirring and reading the disc and when it started up, it showed a still image of Sonic sitting on his bed, hand reaching out as if grabbing something just off screen. Knuckles felt tears well up inside of him the second the image of his friend popped up on his TV.

"Hey Red," Sonic said suddenly as if someone had hit the play button.

Knuckles chuckled. He didn't feel the usual irritation as he used to when Sonic called him that; the echidna swallowed the lump in his throat. "You're watching this, so I guess you guys found this and that means I'm dead. Sucks I know, but what can you do, huh?" Sonic said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I know what you're thinking. 'Boy, he's gonna start getting all mushy on me.' Well, you're wrong. I'm not gonna to that. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you what having you as a friend meant. Not gonna... thank you for everything you've done for me, how you've been there for me through the ups and downs. *heh* I know you don't like that kind of thing."

Knuckles felt a tear roll down his face and he wiped it away. "But what I will say is this... you were like- no, are... a brother to me. Yeah, we got into it on occasion and yeah, we had some rough times. But I know," Sonic held up a hand, his fore and middle finger crossed. "we were like this. You always had my back and I had yours *heh* even when we were so pissed at each other that we wanted to rip each others throats out." *heh* Sonic laughed again, his eyes glancing up at the ceiling. When he was facing the camera again, Sonic reached up to scratch his nose, but Knuckles saw him slyly wipe a tear away.

"I guess that's about it. I'm not going to say goodbye, so I'll just say..." Sonic smiled; his eyes were starting to tear up and the hedgehog's voice was beginning to shake; Knuckles wiped a few of his own away. "I'll see you around... Knuckles." Sonic leaned toward the camera and the image stopped; Knuckles put his head in his hands as tears rolled down his face.

As Cream pulled the car into the driveway and shut the engine off, she breathed out a sigh of relief. They were both wiped out mentally and physically, both yawning at the same time. "I think I'm gonna get this make-up off and head to bed." Cream said as she picked her purse up from the center console.

"Me too." he said, his voice still a little weak from the crying he'd been doing that day, which surprisingly had been far less than he had done the last few days leading up to the funeral. But the funeral had taken a massive toll on him and during the wake at Sally's, he'd had another breakdown, but fortunately it hadn't been as bad as most had been. The big surprise though was when they gathered around to share stories about Sonic.

Everyone told at least one, some causing the group to laugh and others to get misty eyed. When it came around to Tails' turn, he stood up and shared his own story. Toward the end he got a little misty-eyed, but all in all managed to keep things together.

Cream and Tails walked in the house and headed straight back to the bedroom. Cream set her purse down on the dresser. "I'm gonna get this make-up off. You want anything while I'm up?" she asked.

Tails shook his head no, but didn't say anything. "Alright." she said and headed to the bathroom. While she opened the bottle of remover, she thought about the envelope Sally had given her the other day. She was surprised that it wasn't a letter, but a DVD. Cream kicked herself for not remembering to tell him about it when Sally had given it to her, but that day they had to go pick up his suit for the funeral and she stuck it in her purse and forgotten about it. When she walked back into the bedroom, Tails had his back turned toward the door and he turned over when he heard her walk in. "You feeling any better?" Cream asked as she flicked the light off and climbed in next to him; once she was settled down, she flicked a lamp beside the bedroom on.

"A little." Tails said; there was a pause. "It was a nice service."

"Sally did a good job." Cream nodded agreement. "You know, the other day when me and her were both out, she gave me something."

"What's that?" he asked.

She shifted, butterflies in her stomach fluttering around. "When she dropped me off, she handed me this envelope and when I opened it, there was a DVD inside. I... think it's from Sonic."

Tails bolted upright, his eyes growing large when he heard his friend's name. "I was going to tell you, but I forgot about it." Cream said.

Tails glanced down at the bed but didn't reply. She waited for him to speak and when he did, he looked back at her and asked "Where is it?".

"It's in my purse." she replied, pointing over to the dresser. Tails tossed the blanket that was over his legs off to the side, got up and walked over to the dresser and rummaged through her purse. He pulled it out and written on the front of the case it said 'For Cream and Tails', but the DVD he could see sitting inside said 'For Cream.' written in permanent marker. Tails opened the case and grabbed it and felt another one underneath; when he picked the top one up, he saw the other one had 'For Tails' written on it.

"There's two in here." Tails said, holding both of them up for Cream to see. She tossed the blanket off her legs and went over to where he was standing.

There was a short silence before Cream spoke. "Tell you what. I'll go in there and watch the one for me," she said, gesturing toward the living room, "and you can watch yours in here."

"Alright." Tails said and reached over and turned the small TV they had in their bedroom on and Cream stepped over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, as if to say 'it'll be alright'. He gave her a smile and she turned and walked out. Tails pulled the disc out of the case and held it in his hand, finger through the hole in the center. His eyes were already starting to tear up at the thought he was about the see something with Sonic on it and he choked them back. _You can do this._

Cream flicked the ceiling light on and walked over to the TV, grabbing the remote and turning the set on along with the DVD player. When the tray opened, she set the disc inside and closed it, sitting down on the couch as the disc whirred and the player started up. After a few seconds, the frozen image of Sonic popped up on the screen, the hedgehog leaning forward as if he were fiddling with something. Suddenly, the image started up and he sat back.

"Hi Cream." Sonic said to the camera. His smile he was known for shining brightly. "I guess... well, you're watching this so I guess you know what this is about." *heh* "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I want you to know... you were one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. You always had this... glow about you, this... enthusiasm surrounding you; I know you could make a fortune if you could bottle that and sell it."

Cream smiled and laughed slightly. "The only other person I know that can even match that is Tails. If someone was feeling down or angry, he'd cheer them up like that." Sonic said, snapping his fingers. "Always knew what to say or do to make someone feel better."

Sonic turned his gaze toward the ground, cleared his throat then looked back at the camera. "I know he's gonna need that from you to help him get through this. I can't imagine what he's going through right now; I'm not even sure I want to, but I know if anyone can help get him through this, it's you." Sonic looked away from the camera again for a few seconds, then turned back.

"You've got something special kiddo." he said, that smile of his getting brighter. "Take care." With that, Sonic leaned forward, reached for something off-screen and the picture went dark.

Meanwhile

Tails stood in front of the small TV, DVD in hand; his limbs were shaking slightly at the thought of putting it in the player. He took a deep shaky breath and moved his hand over to the player and ejected the tray, eyes brimming with tears as he placed the disc on the tray and closed it. As he turned around and sat on the bed, the disc started and the TV displayed the still image of Sonic like the others before him, reaching just beyond the screen. Tails gasped and swallowed the lump in his throat as the image of Sonic popped up and a tear rolled down his cheek and the image came to life.

"Hi Tails." Sonic said as the still image started playing. A smile came to Tails' lips, then quickly dissolved down into small sobs. On the video, Sonic was showing signs of tears as well and he tried to cover everything with a smile, but he couldn't completely control the quivering of his chin; Sonic reached up with his hand and covered his mouth as if he was pondering a deep question.

"Um... I know we've been through a lot together and... well..." Sonic paused and breathed a long sigh. _"Dammit."_ Sonic whispered, his voice barely audible through the TV. "I just never thought I'd be doing this so soon, ya know?" Tails body jerked from a sob he tried to hold inside and wiped his eyes on his arm.

"Anyway... you and I, we've been through a lot together. I know some of it wasn't easy, like when we were in Mystic Caves when you pushed me away from that falling stalactite. Remember that?"

Tails mind immediately went back to that moment, him pushing Sonic out of the way of some kind of drilling machine Robotnik was using inside Mystic Caves trying to locate a new source of power he thought he had discovered, when it had been a simple miscalculation. The drilling caused the cave to shake and the sharp stalactites to fall from the cave's ceiling which caused them to rain down on the pair and Sonic, forced to keep his eye on Robotnik, failed to notice the sharp rock falling toward him.

Tails, who kept an eye out for whatever Sonic couldn't, rushed to push his friend out of the way. Luckily for Sonic, Tails managed to shove him out of danger, but the falling rock struck Tails in one of his namesakes, leaving a scar. Tails had actually forgotten about the incident until Sonic had brought it up again.

"Or when we were over at Oil Ocean and I slipped on that platform and fell into one of the oil reserves? I never saw you fly as quickly as you did to pull me out. *heh*" Sonic said with a small laugh, taking yet another pause, wiping his eyes, the fur around them now visibly damp.

*Enngh* Tails let a muffled whimper out and wiped away even more tears, snot starting to run down his nose; Sonic wiped away more of his own. "You've been there for me through so much and I want to say thank you Tails. You've been my closest friend and I know I could count on you for anything, and... no matter what, you'd always be there for me." Sonic paused to take another deep breath and let it out.

"I guess I can't do the same for you now. But, someone once told me," Sonic said, holding his hand up to his chest, a quivering smile on his face, "that if you always hold the memory of a person in your heart and think of them, they will never truly be gone." Sonic tapped his chest lightly with his finger, his voice breaking down quickly, smile wavering and tears flowing from his eyes. "Take care, Tails. I love you brother."

As Sonic reached over to turn the camera off, just before the camera stopped rolling video, Tails saw him break down completely as Sonic let out a loud sob before the video stopped. When it did, Tails slowly laid face down on the bed and cried into the thick mattress which muffled his sobs.

Five days later

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* The alarm rang from Sally's phone, announcing the arrival of a new day with an almost unusually ear-splitting sound that by all logic shouldn't have been able to come forth from the device's small speaker. The noise woke Sally abruptly from her slumber and without rolling over, she reached out with one hand and blindly tapped around until she came upon the offending chunk of plastic and turned the alarm off.

As she sat up and began to shake off sleep, she tried to forget the dream she had. It was the same one she'd been having the last few days, although this time there was something different. It would start when her and Sonic sitting outside of the house. They were talking when Scourge would drive up in a beat up, rusted out car. "What's he doing here?" Sally would ask Sonic as the green hedgehog smiled at her.

"We're just gonna hang out for a little while." Sonic would say, then get up and start walking over to the car. "No." she'd say sternly. "I don't want you going with him." Sonic would turn around and chuckle at her. "Nah. It's alright. He's cool." he'd say as he got in the car. Then Scourge, without saying a word would wave at Sally, an evil grin on his face. The past few times she'd had this same dream it would end there and she'd wake up but this time, it took a weird turn. Before they drove off, Sally saw the green hedgehog pull out a needle out of nowhere and hold it up for her to see. She screamed to try to warn Sonic, but no sound came out as he simply looked at her with a calm, pleasant smile on his face.

Sally watched as Scourge injected Sonic with whatever was in the needle and tossed it out the window. A few seconds later, Sonic slumped over the open window and Scourge drove off, leaving Sally standing on the porch in tears.

Sally tried to shake it off as best she could and wiped away the tears. "It's just a dream." She told herself and once she was awake enough where she could think straight, she reached over and grabbed her phone that had woken her up without so much as a warning and scrolled through her messages. There was one from Cream that read, 'We'll be there around 11. Bring your appetite. See you there :)'

Two days ago, after a little convincing on their part, she agreed to have lunch with Tails and Cream. She wanted to do something like that with them beforehand, but every time she went to reach for the phone, she'd get that 'you're being needy' feeling which would kill the idea. But today was going to be different. Today was going to be a normal day. No bringing up any problems or something that was bothering her. It was just three friends getting together to have lunch and personal problems wouldn't be allowed. _I still have an hour; just enough time to take a shower._ Sally thought as she went over to the closet and grabbed a clean change of clothes and headed for the shower.

Later

Sally pulled the car into the parking lot of the cafe where they agreed to meet and shut the engine off. Her dream from earlier was still fresh in her mind and she took a deep breath and reminded herself that she wasn't going to let something as simple as that get to her. But it did strike her odd that even though it wasn't the worst dream about Sonic she ever had, it worried her that it was still on her mind this long.

Sally walked through the door and a waitress greeted her. "Just one?" she asked Sally.

"No, I'm meeting a couple here." Sally said, giving the waitress a brief description of Tails and Cream. "Ah, she's over here." the waitress said, leading Sally over to a booth where Cream was sitting alone.

"Hey." Cream said, a smile on her face when she noticed Sally standing next to the table.

"Hey." Sally replied as she got comfortable. The waitress pulled out her order pad and a pen. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.

"Tea." Cream said.

"The same." Sally said. The waitress nodded and jotted their order down and headed off. "Where's Tails?" Sally asked, setting her purse down on the seat next to her.

"Back at the lab." Cream said with a small laugh.

"He finally started going back down there again?" Sally asked with a smile.

Cream nodded. "Yeah. Been going down there the past three days actually. You remember that body armor he's been working on for GUN?" she asked. Sally nodded. "He finally got around that problem with the fabric being flexible enough with the titanium inserts. Turns out he just needed to change it to an over-lapping plate style." she said, holding one hand just over the other.

"You still helping him out?" Sally asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, but not when he gets to anything really technical. But I am learning a lot." The waitress came back carrying two glasses and set them down on the table. "Thank you." Sally said, taking her glass and reaching for the plastic box on the table that held packets of artificial sweetener. Cream nodded her thanks and the waitress handed them a couple of menus. "I'll give you both a few minutes." she said and walked away to check on the other customers.

"So how've you been?" Cream asked, grabbing a couple packets of sugar. "Better. I've finally started getting more than a few minutes of sleep a night now." Sally said, taking a sip of her tea to test the sugar levels.

As their little get-together went on, Sally had to fight herself from bringing up that dream. She tried to hide the fact something was bothering her and as far as she could tell, Cream was none the wiser although the rabbit did have an uncanny knack for reading people. If she did sense something she said nothing and acted like nothing was wrong.

They finished and promised to have lunch again soon, but the next time it would be with everyone; Sally laid her share of the bill on the table, although Cream tried to argue that she had invited her out so it was her responsibility to pay and after a little friendly arguing, they split the bill and Sally headed back to her car. Cream waived as she climbed into her car and Sally returned it and watched Cream drive off.

She reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys and stuck them in the ignition but didn't turn it. The thought of going back to an empty house wasn't exactly a pleasant thought, and after sitting and staring at the wall of the cafe, she begrudgingly reached over and started the engine.

The drive back was lonely and as she drove on, she began to feel that familiar loneliness creeping back up on her again and any feelings of normalcy she had achieved during lunch with Cream had been thrown out the window. When she finally reached her place, she didn't pull into the driveway but instead parked in front and shut the engine off.

She just sat in the car and stared at the house, her mind continuing to focus on that silly dream she had, and the longer she sat and stared at the dark, empty house, the more she thought about Sonic in her dream as Scourge injected him with that needle and he slumped forward on the car door as he drove off with that smile on his face. And the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She hated Scourge ever since she found out about his involvement with Sonic, but had let it go when Sonic had come to his senses. Or at least she thought. Now, something as simple as a dream had raised those thoughts of anger once again and soon, she was shaking with anger as she went back to that one moment in Metropolis when she saw Sonic sitting in his house, too high on who knew what to recognize any of them, the stories Sonic had told her, the way he manipulated Sonic in his own way and toyed with the blue hedgehog for his own sick enjoyment.

She hated the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about something that had no real meaning and had no basis in logic but she just couldn't shake this one off. Her blood began to boil at the mere thought of Scourge's name now. "It's all his fault." Sally muttered angrily. "If it weren't for him, Sonic would still be here." she said through clenched teeth. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight she could see her knuckles turn a bright white as she gripped the steering wheel. "And he doesn't even know what happened to him." she said, continuing to talk to herself.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped in her mind, she reached over and started the engine and it fired up as she pressed the gas to the floor and put it in gear. "That's about to change." she said as the car's tires spun in the dirt and she tore down the road.

Sally sped down the road with her foot laying heavy on the gas. It was a good two-hour drive to Metropolis, but at the speed she was driving it wouldn't take nearly as long. The longer she drove, she thought of the possible outcomes of her confronting the green hedgehog and they ranged from her simply yelling to a few becoming very dark. Those scenarios she ran in her head kept stoking the fires of her rage well and Sally knew when she finally let her anger vent on him, it wasn't going to be pretty.

An hour later, she finally reached Metropolis and her destination. She had no problems finding his house again and parked the car right in front and shut the engine off; her knuckles turning white once again as she looked at the dilapidated house, hands gripping the steering wheel in anger. She took a deep breath, reached over, unlocked the doors and climbed out slowly.

Sally approached the house slowly, her eyes locked on the front door; her heart was racing in anticipation as she stepped up on the porch and knocked. She waited but didn't hear any noise coming from inside so she knocked again. Nothing. This time she pounded on the door which a second after she stopped she heard a friendly "Yeah Godamit! Hold on!" and the sound of something hitting the floor. "Three in the afternoon! Fuckin' hell- you know what time it is?" Sally heard Scourge yell as he reached the door and she took a step back as she heard the sound of locks being undone.

"Wha..." he trailed off, then once he recognized who she was, gave her that cocky grin of his. She chose to remain silent and just stared at him. When she finally saw him, it took everything she had not to take a swing at him.

"I'll be damned. Never thought I'd see you again." he said, his eyes running down her body. "You gonna stare or you gonna say something?" he asked with that cocky grin on his face. One look told her he was loaded on something which didn't surprise her.

"I see you're doing well." Sally finally said, getting her anger and urge to hit him under control.

"I'm doing aces, baby." he said as he took a step back. "But I can see you're... _fine._" he sneered, his glassed over eyes continuing to run up and down her frame. He was so high she was surprised he even knew who she was at the moment.

Sally felt a chill run down her spine and she gave him a glare that could melt ice. "So what can I do you for? I guess you're not here for a friendly talk." he said, leaning against the doorframe.

"No. It's about Sonic." she said, not wasting any time.

"Ah, how is ol' blue doing?" Scourge asked with that ever-present smile on his face.

Sally folded her arms. "He died. Two weeks ago. I just thought you'd like to know." she said.

"Shit." he murmured, looking down at the ground. The expression on his face went from that sneer of his to a surprised sadness. "Guess I'm not getting that twenty back I lent him, huh?" he said to Sally.

Sally stepped forward quickly. "You son of a bitch! Don't you even care?" she yelled, her fist clenched and body shaking out of anger.

"Of course I do!" he snapped back. "You're not the one out twenty bucks."

*POP* "Ah!" Scourge yelled as Sally's fist slammed into his face; he stumbled and hit the back of the couch and fell to the floor on his butt, blood dripping from his nose. "What the hell'd you do that for?!" he demanded, pulling himself up with one hand and holding his nose with the other. He grabbed a shirt from a pile of clothes off the couch and held it to his nose, wincing as he did.

Sally took a step forward, her body shaking with rage. "_You deserve a hell of a lot more than that for what you did to him._" she hissed through clenched teeth. For a second, the idea of slugging him again crossed her mind, but she knew better than to give into that urge. But oh how good it felt to hit him, even if it was just once. That one punch had released so much of the pent up anger she'd held inside of herself for so long and, as badly as she wanted to jump on him and continue, she knew it wasn't worth going to jail. Instead, she turned around and pulled the door open, then looked back at the green hedgehog. "You're a real class act, you know that?" she said before she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Climbing back in her car, she stuck the key in the ignition and started it, gunning the engine as Scourge came out onto the porch of the house, still holding the shirt to his nose. She put the car in gear, gave him a one-fingered salute and tore down the road.

She tore through two stop signs before she realized what she was doing and slowed down, making sure she came to a stop at the next one. As she made her way through the almost deserted streets of Metropolis, she felt her stomach beginning to act up and began looking for a place to get something to eat. She hadn't had any problems with it acting up for a few days and the last time it had, she found it usually calmed down when she ate something.

Unfortunately, for Sally, finding a place to eat in Metropolis proved to be a little difficult. Most of the places she saw had closed down due to the dwindling population, but after a little searching, she found a place. It looked nice compared to most of Metropolis and she could actually see a couple customers inside through the windows, surprising since she had seen no more than ten people within Metropolis since she arrived which meant the food must not have been all that terrible; the only thing that struck her as odd was it had no name. There was no sign out front or anything to give anyone an indication that it was a place to eat if they just happened to drive by. She had found the place by accident when she noticed a waitress walking around inside when she pulled up to the stop sign.

Sally turned the corner and parked in front of the cafe, shut the engine off and headed inside. *ding ding* A pair of bells above the door signaled to the staff that there was a customer waiting and the waitress Sally saw from her car a minute earlier looked over at the door and smiled as she excused herself and walked away from the table and toward Sally. "Hi!" she said to Sally with a big smile. "Just yourself?"

"Yes." Sally replied, nodding of the head.

"You want a counter or table, hon?"

"Oh, table's fine with me." Sally said as the waitress began walking toward a cluster of tables and booths.

The waitress nodded and led Sally to a table close to where the other customers were sitting at a booth, a pair of Mobians and a group of three humans along with a human and another Mobian sitting just off to their right at a table. "My name's Sarah. You want anything to drink?"

"Tea if you have it." Sally replied. "Lemon?" Sarah asked.

"Please." Sally replied.

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute with that for ya." Sarah said as she turned around to get Sally her drink. When she came back to the table, she set the glass of tea down on the table along with a menu. "I'll give you a minute to decide. Yell if you need anything." Sarah said before heading off again. Sally opened the menu and looked over what they had to offer. The menu didn't have very much to offer like most places of it's kind so she choose a toasted ham and cheese on wheat bread with broccoli cheddar soup.

Sarah came back a couple minutes later and took her order, then took the ticket back to the kitchen; less than six minutes later, she came back with Sally's order. "Here ya go, hon." Sarah said as she set the plate and bowl on the table in front of Sally; her stomach still acting up but now beginning to calm down now that she had spotted the food. "Thanks." Sally said. Sarah gave her a nod and headed off to check the two remaining customers.

Sally prepared herself for the worst but to her surprise, the food was actually good. The sandwich was decent and had enough meat and cheese to satisfy hunger without being piled on in excess and the soup, while definitely not made from scratch, was actually better than she expected from a cafe in a town that looked like it had been deserted for fifty years. Sarah came back, the bill in her hand. "How was it?" she asked as she cleared the empty bowl and plate off the table, then set the bill face down.

"Good. Complements to the chef on the sandwich" Sally said.

"I'll let him know." Sarah said with a smile. "When you're ready, head over to the register and I'll ring you up."

"Thank you." Sally said with a nod as Sarah walked away, dishes in hand. She grabbed the glass and swallowed the last of the tea and let out a satisfied sigh. _Maybe this day won't be so bad after all._ she thought as she reached into her purse and took out four one dollar bills and laid them on the table then picked the check up and looked at it; everything came to a mere 5.78. _How do they make any money in this place with those prices?_ she thought as she picked up the check and headed for the register.

Sarah was already there to greet her and Sally handed her the check and Sarah looked it over, tapping a few keys on the register. "With tax it's $6.19." Sally took a ten out and handed it to her.

"Out of ten..." Sarah said, tapping a couple more buttons on the register. "3.81." she said as she took Sally 's change and handed it to her. "You got a long drive ahead of you?" Sarah asked as she handed Sally her change.

"Not really. Just a few hours to Station Square." Sally said as she put her money away. "Is it that obvious I'm not from here?" she asked with a laugh.

"Nah." Sarah said with a smile. "It's just you're not one of the regulars we have in here everyday is all. No offense." she said. Sally smiled and shook her head that it wasn't. "We had a fella used to come in that was from there. Used to come in here every night. Last I heard he was living over in a house on Wilson, but I haven't seen him for a while now. I guess he must've went back or moved on. Nice guy too; Sonic I think was his name." Sarah said as she shut the register's cash drawer.

Sally's heart skipped a beat when she said Sonic's name. She looked at Sarah, eyes wide. "You knew him? Mobian," she said holding a hand up almost even with her ear. "about this tall? Blue hair? Always talked kind of fast?"

"Yeah. You know him?" Sarah asked, a curious look on her face.

Sally nodded. "I'm his wife."

Sarah's eyes went wide. "So you're Sally." she said with a smile.

"You know me?" Sally asked, wondering how a complete stranger knew who she was.

"Oh yeah. Every time he came in here, he'd always mention you in some way. So how's he doing?" she asked.

Sally swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat. "He's fine." she said quickly with a small smile.

Sarah nodded and her smile faded slightly. Years of being in her line of work and working around people every day gave her a sixth sense when it came to reading their emotions. She had seen this look before and nodded. "Glad to hear it." she said; there was a short pause before Sarah spoke again. "Drive safe, hon."

"Thanks." Sally said and turned and walked out the doors and back to her car. Sally started the engine and began to head home. As she made her way through Metropolis, she could still hear Sarah in her mind saying, "Last I heard he was living over in a house on Wilson."

The idea of finding where Sonic had called home for his final couple months in this hellhole did intrigue her. He had talked about the house he had been living in and she'd be lying to herself if there wasn't a part of her that wanted to see how he managed to live in a place that had no heat, light, blankets or hot water, if not to get a better idea on what he had went through; the only clues she had to go on was that the house had blue chipping paint and the only way in was through the backdoor. Not much to go on but she was going to try.

Sally pulled the car into a gas station to fill up and pulled up next to the pump and went inside. "You wouldn't happen to know where Wilson street is, would you?" she asked the clerk as she paid for her gas.

"Wilson street?" she said as she glanced out the window to check the pump number Sally had parked next to. "Yeah. Go down the street here," the cashier said pointing out the window, "make a right, straight for three blocks and make a left." She took Sally's change out of the drawer and handed it to her. "Thank you." Sally said and walked back out to her car.

She grabbed the fuel nozzle and pumped the gas as quickly as she could and got back in the car, locking the doors and starting the engine. As she pulled out to the curb, she was surprised to see a car puttering along. "Huh." she mused as pulled out onto the street and made her right turn. She had been in Metropolis for a couple of hours and that had been the first car she saw since she arrived.

She followed the directions given to her by the gas stations cashier and within a few minutes, she was driving down Wilson street, looking for the house Sonic had lived in. Most of the houses on this street, much like the rest of Metropolis had been abandoned and only had one or two families still living on any given block.

Once she was finally on Wilson, she began looking for the blue house with chipping paint. As she made her way down the street at a slow pace, the few people living there watched her from their windows with caution. _Even this long after the war and these people still haven't gotten over everything._ she thought as she scanned for houses while trying not to make herself look too suspicious. Finally, about three houses away from the next block, she saw two houses just like Sonic had described. One was to her immediate right and she pulled over and shut the engine off, on the opposite side of the street sat the other one, only one house over. Both had boarded up windows and grass that was in severe need of mowing and watering.

Sally reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, which had one of those little built-in flashlights on it and checked the battery. _Three bars._ she thought as she opened the glove compartment and set her purse inside, locking the compartment's door and getting out of the car, taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching her. In a place like this where everyone more than likely knew everyone, it wasn't surprising that she had been watched and given funny looks by the residents of Metropolis.

Satisfied that no one was watching, she walked up to the front door of the house and laid a hand on the knob and turned it; nothing. _Worth a shot._ she thought as she headed around toward the back. She tried that door as well and came up with the same result, nothing. She walked back around to the front and crossed over to the other side of the street.

As she approached the other house, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach; almost as if something inside her was telling her not to go in. She ignored it and walked onto the front lawn of the house and around the back, ignoring the front door completely. As she walked around the side of the house, she noticed something different. The three windows on the front of the house had been boarded up except for this one on the side. The board in this window had been moved slightly to the right and the window opened a few inches. _This has to be it. _she thought as she tried to take a look inside, but couldn't see anything other than the opposite wall.

When she rounded the corner of the house, she noticed the back door was ajar. Sally stopped and listened for any sounds coming from inside the house but didn't hear any. Carefully tiptoeing up to the door, she stopped just in front of it and listened again but heard nothing. When she reached up with her hand and tried to open the door but the bottom half dragged against the ground leaving a six-inch gap for her to squeeze through. She tried again, this time with a little force and managed to open it another half inch, but it wasn't going to open any wider than that. Thanks to the boards covering the windows, there wasn't much light inside, making it hard to see and the smell of old wood, mildew and stale air filled her nose. Sally reached inside her pocket and pulled out her phone, turning the small flashlight on and illuminating the darkness as she stepped inside.

A/N: I felt odd about naming this one Return to Metropolis since it only describes the second half of the story, but it was the best I could come up with. Also, as I finish this, I almost lost this chapter and my computer. It decided to act up, but when you're running one that's still on Windows 98 you take your chances. I really need to save up for another one and I think I'm going to do that. It's been acting wonky on me the past couple of months and I hope it holds out until I finish this story. Thanks for reading and if you want updates, I usually post what's going on in my profile with this story. See you next chapter!


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - Surprise

Hey everyone, I should start getting these out more frequently now that I actually have plot to write for again. Also, just a note, I post updates on this story every Monday on my profile, like how far I am on a chapter, when I might be finished with a current one and anything else I'm doing related to this. Rated T for some mild language. Enjoy and if you can, leave a review. They help out. I'll see you next chapter.

As the light of Sally's phone cut through the darkness, the light's beam caught particles of dust dancing around in the air. *cough cough* Sally grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her nose and mouth in an attempt to filter out the dust as best she could and took another step inside. Even though she had no idea if this was indeed the house he had been living in, it seemed like a good bet. There were a couple of clues she saw that seemed to back up his story. For one, straight ahead in the living room, one of the boards covering a window had been moved over just enough to let a little light in and the counter had empty cans of tuna and processed meat sitting on the kitchen counter. Whatever had remained in them had dried up long ago or eaten by mice or some other pest.

While the tins of food weren't much in the way of evidence, but the board covering the window along with the one she saw when she passed by the bedroom window which had been opened in the same fashion reinforced the notion this was the place. Sally did remember him mentioning that he had been paranoid about getting caught for staying in the house, but had moved two boards, one in the living room and one in the bedroom just enough so he could open the window and let fresh air and light in. _This has to be it._ she thought as she shined the beam of light around the small kitchen. To her left was an old stove and refrigerator, both of which were rusted out and had to be at least twenty years old. To her right was the counters and sink and on the opposite wall were cabinets. Out of curiosity, she reached up and grabbed the knob of one and opened it.

"Son of a-!" she exclaimed and jumped backward as a mouse, startled by the sudden presence of another living being, shot toward her narrowly missing her shoulder followed by a dull *ting*. It landed with a small thud on the floor behind her and scurried away to the safety of the darkness; Sally placed a hand on her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Shit!" she exclaimed from the sudden scare and took several deep breaths to calm herself down; her hand dropped down, the beam of light illuminating the floor and she saw what caused the dull ting. It was a can of tuna that had been wrapped in an old bread bag. The plastic looked like it was brittle enough to shatter with just a look; there were holes eaten in the plastic that was left, meaning mice had gotten to whatever had been left inside the can.

_He used to do that to save food._ Sally thought as she shut the cabinet door. _This has to be his place._ Any doubts she had that this wasn't quickly began to fade as she made her way into the living room. That room to, aside from some dust was clean otherwise. Aside from a dresser and a broken, dirty blue couch, it was bare. Walking a little further inside, Sally shined her light around and something to her right caught the light. Squinting, she turned and once her eyes adjusted, she saw it was a TV set.

Sally walked over to it and bent down to get a closer look, she saw that the plastic on the back of the set had melted slightly and had been taken apart in an attempt to repair it. _That's the TV he tried to fix._ she thought. The two boards covering the windows having been moved exactly as Sonic had told her, the empty tins of canned meat, tuna and empty bread bags which had been his diet during his time in Metropolis and the broken TV he had mentioned that caught fire were all she needed to convince her that this had been his place. And as it finally sunk in that he had lived in the house, she felt the telltale signs of tears begin to come to the surface.

_I shouldn't have come here._ she thought as she turned around and headed for the door. As she shoved it opened and headed for her car, the stories Sonic had told her about this place and the things he had went through began to pop up in her mind. In her mind she could see him on that dirty couch, trying to keep warm with just the thin blanket he had taken with him, or take a bath in cold water. Sally reached the car and unlocked it and got in, folding her arms across the steering wheel and burying her face into them. Now that she had seen this place, she had a visual cue to the stories Sonic had told her which made them a lot more vivid in her mind. She saw him on the couch, trying to ride out one of his many withdrawal episodes and trying to keep himself from howling in pain.

"I'm sorry." Sally said as her hands gripped the steering wheel. "I should've *sob*... should've came looking for you *sob*." In her mind she saw him stick a needle in his arm and inject his 'medicine' as he sometimes called it and she cried harder at the image her mind played for her.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out. "I didn't even try to help you. I just *sob* gave *sob* up on you! I didn't *sob* even bother to look for you- Oh God..." she trailed off as the tears came harder and faster. The jag lasted for a few minutes and once it had begun to slow down, she reached over for her purse and grabbed a packet of tissues she kept on hand and pulled a couple of them out and dried her eyes.

"NGH!" she grunted as an intense pain shot through her abdomen. Her eyes grew wide with the sudden throbbing sensation and she leaned back in the seat. "What the- NGH!" she grunted again as another bolt quickly shot through her belly; this time it didn't subside, but downgraded to a steady dull sensation. "Ngh." Sally moaned as she tried to get hold of her senses. "Nngh!" she yelped as another sudden jolt shook her.

Her arms trembling, she reached over to her purse again and grabbed her phone with one hand, the other holding her stomach and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator said when the call connected.

Sally grimaced and let out a small "ngh" as another burst of pain shot through her again, although this one was much less painful than the others had been. "I need... an ambulance." Sally said, her breathing slightly labored.

"All right ma'am, and what's your emergency?"

"I was sitting in my ca- ngh!" Sally moaned as another burst ran through her. "sitting in my car when I started having stomach pain."

"Okay. How painful is it?"

"NGH! *sob* Bad." Sally replied through a pained sob.

"Okay and are you driving right now? Drinking, drugs, are you pregnant? Anything like that?"

"No." Sally replied.

"Do you have any other symptoms?"

"No. Ngh...!"

"Can you tell me where you are right now?" the operator asked.

"In Metropolis, on... ngh- AAAAH! *sob* on Wilson, white four door sedan."

"All right. I'm dispatching the medics to your location. Are you taking any medications we need to know about?" the operator asked. Sally could hear her typing then a beep.

"No." she replied through clenched teeth.

"All right." the operator said as she tapped a few more keys. "And how old are you?"

"18." Sally replied.

"Okay." There was a short silence followed by a series of three beeps. "Metropolis call center to EMS station 14." the operator said, followed by a beep.

"Station 14, go ahead." the voice of a man said; Sally grunted from another burst of pain.

"Requesting ambulance dispatch to Wilson street, 18-year-old female complaining of severe abdominal pain. Can you advise?"

"Checking." the man said. There was a brief pause, then he said something that Sally couldn't understand what it was, and then he began to speak to the operator again. "10-4. Dispatching Unit 31 to the area. Code 4." the man said, followed by a beep.

"Copy that. Thank you station." The sound of keys could be heard clicking over the phone then the operator began to talk to Sally again. "All right ma'am, I have a unit en-route to your location now."

"Thank you." Sally said as her breathing began to calm down.

"I want you to try to remain calm and breathe normally; I'll stay on the line with you until the paramedics get there."

Ten minutes later

*WRRRRRRRRRR* Even with the windows rolled up, Sally heard as the tell-tale sound of the ambulance's siren announced it's arrival and less than a minute later, it pulled up behind her car. "They're here." Sally said to the dispatcher.

"All right. I'm going to hang up and let them take over." the operator said.

"Thank you." Sally replied as she hung up her end and laid the phone on the passenger seat. She watched her rear view mirror as two men, one human and a dog type Mobian stepped out of the cab of the ambulance and walk around to the back. The rear doors flung open and they brought a stretcher around and began to walk toward Sally's car.

She opened the door and swung her legs out, her stomach complaining with every inch she moved but she bit the bullet and took it as best she could. "Afternoon." the human male said as he approached the car; the Mobian gave her a nod of the head. "My name's Mark and this is my partner Fred. What's going on today?" he asked. "Jeez. Forgot the portable. Be right back." Fred said. Mark nodded and Fred headed back to the ambulance.

"Well," Sally began to speak, but a quick burst shot through her. "Ngh. I was sitting here in my car and all of a sudden, I started having these pains in my stomach." she replied.

Mark nodded as Fred came back carrying a device that was the size of a lunch pail; Sally recognized it as a portable defibrillator and heart monitor. Mark nodded and walked up to her. "Alright. And are you still having pain now?"

Sally nodded that she was and grimaced as a small burst shot through her. "How long do they last?" he asked her.

"A few seconds at the most."

"Okay." Mark replied as he reached out and put an arm around her. "Let's go ahead and have you get on the stretcher. Can you stand up?"

Sally nodded and grabbed onto the door to stabilize herself, but as she went to stand up, another burst of pain went through her but she gritted her teeth and managed to walk over to the stretcher and sat down, breathing a sigh of relief once she was on it. "Can you grab my keys and purse?" Sally asked. Mark nodded and reached in and grabbed them both, setting them in a small compartment underneath the stretcher.

"Were you drinking or taking any kind of drugs? Pregnant?"

"No, no... it was just sudden- NGH!" Sally said, followed by another sharp moan.

"Okay. Go ahead and lay down for me." Mark said as he reached for a walkie-talkie hanging on his hip. "Dispatch, this is Unit 31. Request to begin transporting patient to Station Square General."

"10-4. Standby." A male voice said from the radio. There was a good 30-second pause before it came to life again. "31, request granted. Transport to Station Square General approved."

"Thank you dispatch." Mark hung the radio back on his belt. "Let's get you strapped in. Is the monitor ready?" he asked Fred as they both began to secure her with a couple of straps so she wouldn't go sliding off. "Just need to hook up the pads." Fred said as he locked the one for her legs into place. "Those too tight?" Mark asked her and Sally shook her head no.

Mark nodded and they began pushing her to the ambulance. "Ngh!" Sally moaned again as another bolt of pain shot through her. They got to the rear of the ambulance and they lifted her inside with ease, then Fred climbed in with her. "Start oxygen and get the pads hooked up." Mark said as he shut the doors and walked back to the driver's side and climbed in.

Sally heard the growl of the engine as it started up and watched as Fred grabbed a long section of clear tubing, attaching one end to a valve on the ceiling then grabbed the other end that would go around her face. "Let's get this on you." he said as he put her head through it, then brought it around, inserting the ends that delivered oxygen into her nose; once that was on, he reached up and turned a knob and a hiss began emanating from the hose as oxygen flowed through the tubing.

Once that was done, he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a good length of wire that had those sticky pads that Sally had seen attached to Sonic when he was in the hospital. Just as Fred sat down, the ambulance lurched forward, almost sending him off of the small bench. "Easy there, boss." Fred said jokingly as he began hooking up the leads to Sally and the monitor.

"Sorry bout that. I told them to take a look at the engine last time we parked it." Mark said as the ambulance turned a corner.

29 minutes later

Sally moaned as the ambulance came to a stop and the inertia threw her body slightly toward the front of the cab. Her stomach had calmed down considerably in the past ten minutes but it was far from over as another burst rang through her. Mark came around the back and opened the doors and with Fred's help, they took her out of the ambulance and wheeled her through the emergency room's back entrance.

They pushed her gurney through the automatic doors and stopped just inside at a desk where a nurse glanced up at them. "What d'ya got?" he asked.

"18 year old female, complaining of severe abdominal pain. Last BP check was 108/91, pulse 84." Mark told him. He typed the information on a computer and pointed down toward the hallway. "Exam 4."

"Thanks." Mark said as they began to push her once again. As they wheeled her down the hallway and into the exam room through a pair of large automatic glass doors, a doctor was already waiting for her, his back turned toward him looking over a small monitor in front of him on the wall. "How ya doing?" Mark said as he wheeled the gurney in, setting it in the middle of the room under a large light hanging from the ceiling. "Good. What do you got?" he asked as Fred unhooked the leads from the portable monitor up to the hospital's monitor on the wall. _I know that voice._ "Dr. Anderson?" Sally said.

The doctor turned around and she was right. It was the same doctor Sonic had when he was in the hospital. "Sally?" Dr. Anderson said as he tried to place her in his mind. "Yes." he said with a smile as he reached out to shake her hand, which she returned weakly; Fred unhooked her from their monitor, then grabbed it off the gurney as he and Mark walked out the room; Dr. Anderson reached over and pushed a button for the speaker on the wall. "Need a nurse in exam 4." he said, then turned back to Sally.

"I saw that you've been having stomach pain?" he asked.

Sally nodded. "It started about thirty minutes ago. I was just sitting in my car and all of a sudden it felt like someone kicked me from the inside."

Dr. Anderson nodded as he watched the monitor that was now beeping steadily along with her pulse. "Okay." he murmured, one of his favorite words Sally remembered. "Any other problems? Drugs? Drinking? Anything like that?"

"No." Sally said with a shake of her head as the nurse he had called for walked in. "Let's get her on one of the beds, then go ahead and get her a gown, start an IV and get a BP reading." he said to her as he walked up next to the side of the gurney. "Can you stand up?"

Sally nodded and very gingerly, she swung her legs over the side, grimacing as moving slowly did nothing to keep her stomach from yelling in pain. It hurt like hell to move, but she wasn't about to let someone dress her as long as she could do it herself. The nurse went over to a rolling chest that resembled a large toolbox and pulled out a gown, laying it at her knees. "We'll give you a minute to get changed." the nurse said as she and Dr. Anderson walked out of the room, pulling a curtain in front of the doors as they did. Again, she went to stand up and let out a "NGH!" as another bolt of pain shot through her. She undressed as quickly as she could then laid back down and let out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.

"I'm done." Sally called out, slightly out of breath. When the nurse came back into the room, she was pushing one of the hospital's gurneys into the room, then grabbed a clean bottom sheet and tucked it under the mattress. Ignoring the pain as best she could, Sally gritted her teeth and stood up, transferring over to the new bed once it was ready and the nurse wheeled the other one out into the hall. Dr. Anderson walked over to the side of her bed. "Where were we..." he trailed off then shook his head as he remembered where they had left off. "Oh yes." he said with an uneasy laugh. "You said these pains started about half an hour ago?"

"Yeah." Sally replied.

"Have you had these before?"

Sally nodded. "Yeah. Happened about a week ago, but it only happened once and it wasn't nearly as bad as these have been." The nurse began rummaging through the rolling chest, looking for something.

Dr. Anderson nodded as he reached over to a holder on the wall and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and put them on. "Can you lift up the front of your gown for me?" he asked. Sally nodded and raised it, revealing her bare stomach. _Thank God I remembered to wear underwear._ she thought as Dr. Anderson began to gently push on her stomach. "AAH!" she yelled; both Dr. Anderson and the nurse jumped as her sudden outburst cut through the silence.

_I didn't even press hard. Could be the appendix._ he thought as he set his hands on her again. "Have you had your appendix taken out?" he asked as the nurse wrapped a BP cuff around her arm. "Mm-hmm. When I was nine." Sally replied.

Dr. Anderson nodded. _That's out._ he thought as he pressed on both sides of her stomach, but this didn't produce the sudden yelp from her again; the nurse reached up and flipped a switch on the monitor and the cuff around her arm began to inflate. Dr. Anderson pressed around a few more times and when he pressed down on the center of her stomach just above her navel, she let out another yelp of pain. Dr. Anderson backed off but held his hands just above the same spot.

"And you haven't had this kind of sustained pain before?" he asked.

"No." Sally said shaking her head.

Dr. Anderson nodded and held his hands over the same spot. He barely made contact with her skin, and very gently began to press down, increasing the pressure slowly. Sally let out a soft moan at first but it escalated to another yelp quickly.

"Sorry." Dr. Anderson said. "I won't be doing that again, I promise."

"Thank you." Sally said breathing a sigh of relief.

_Just that made her yell...?_

"BP is 91/72." The nurse said as she unwrapped the cuff from her arm and hung it on a hook, then got the IV ready. In less than a minute she had it set and held in place with tape on her arm.

"That's good." Dr. Anderson said to himself as he typed it into a smaller monitor on the wall. "Nurse?" Dr. Anderson said when he turned around.

"Yes?" she said as she threw away the needle's packaging.

"Can you run down and get 30 cc's of Ketacloramide?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Yes, Doctor." she said with a smile and headed out of the room, leaving them alone.

"Okay, I'm going to order up a blood panel to rule out anything dangerous and the ketacloramide should ease the pain."

Sally nodded. "Any idea what's wrong?"

Dr. Anderson let out a sigh. "Not at this point. It could be anything from a stomach bug to appendicitis to something more serious like a tumor, but I doubt it's anything _that_ serious. Other than the stomach pain, can you remember anything else that hasn't been normal?"

Sally nodded again. "Vomiting and dry heaving. They just come out of the blue. But that hasn't happened in a few days."

Dr. Anderson nodded. "Anything else?"

"No." Sally said.

"All right." he said as he stood up. "I'll go and order up that blood work; they should be in here in a few minutes. Just try to relax and breathe normally." Dr. Anderson said as he got up to leave.

"Thank you. Nnngh..." Sally said, grimacing as another round of pain ripped through her.

Five minutes later

The nurse came into the room along with one of the lab tech's carrying the tell-tale white basket filled with needles, rubber tubing and vials, setting it on the gurney between her ankles. As the lab tech began to get what he needed, Sally saw the nurse had a needle in her hands and was reaching into the chest against the wall looking for something.

"Mrs. Acorn?" the tech asked.

"Ms." she corrected him, moaning slightly as a dull roar ran through her stomach.

"Sorry about that." he said as he slipped a pair of gloves on, then grabbed the vials with her name on them and a needle and laid them on the bed.

"All right." the nurse said as she wiped the IV sticking out of her arm with an alcohol pad. "This should ease the pain and help you relax." the nurse said as she inserted the needle into the IV's rubber cap and pushed down on the plunger. Sally tensed up as the injection began to burn as it entered her vein, but it was over in ten seconds as the nurse pulled the needle out, capped it and tossed it into a biohazard container on the wall and left the room.

The tech walked around to the left side of her bed and grabbed her arm and began looking for a vein, not an easy feat when dealing with a Mobian. He tapped two fingers on her arm and smiled. "There you are." he said as he dropped her arm, then reached over and grabbed the vials and the needle then picked her arm up again. Taking an alcohol pad from his shirt pocket, he wiped the area down and did his job, getting three vials in less than a minute and a half.

As the tech began to clean up, Sally felt the medication she had been injected with go to work and she smiled as any pain she had disappeared and she began to feel better than she had in days. "Thank you." she said, a wide smile on her face and her eyes half closed. The tech nodded, gave a "You're welcome" and left the room.

A few minutes later, a nurse came in carrying a small paper cup and handed it to Sally. Inside was a thick, viscous lime colored liquid. "What's this for?" Sally asked, looking at the cup.

"It's for your stomach. The injection we gave you can cause an upset stomach so this is just to counter it before it happens." the nurse said. The thickness of the liquid reminded her of paint as she put the cup to her lips and swallowed it. It had a slight chalky mint taste to it, but all in all wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. The nurse took the cup from her and threw it away.

"Do you know how long it'll be until I get my test results back?" Sally asked, smacking her lips gently to get rid of the chalky after taste.

"Let me-" *ring ring* The nurse stopped as a phone started ringing from underneath Sally's bed. The nurse walked over and bent down and retrieved it from underneath the bed where the paramedic had stashed it. "Sorry about that." Sally said as she took the phone and silenced the ringer. The nurse just smiled. "Let me check that for you." she said as she walked around to the other side of the bed and over to the intercom on the wall and pushed the button.

"Nurses station." A woman's voice said a few seconds later.

"This is Mary in exam 4. How long until the blood work for the patient is finished?"

"Checking." the voice said. After a short pause she said, "About five minutes."

"Thank you." Mary said and released the button.

"There you go." Mary said. Sally thanked her and she walked out. Alone again, she checked her phone to see who it was that had called and saw that it was Shadow. _Should I call him back?_ she thought as she continued to stare at her phone. _Nah._ she thought as she turned it off and set it on the table beside the bed. She wanted to, but she decided to wait until she knew what was wrong with her before she called him or the others. If it turned out to be nothing, she didn't want to worry him or have the others rush down there all worried about her for something as simple as a stomach virus or something that wasn't serious.

"I'll check again, ma'am." the nurse said over the intercom as Sally tossed the bed's intercom down beside her. Another twenty minutes had passed now with no word from either Dr. Anderson or the nurse on the results of her blood tests. "Ridiculous." Sally muttered under her breath and went back to the 'Worm' game on her phone.

"Sally?" she heard a male voice say a minute later as Dr. Anderson finally came back, holding a paper file in his hands this time.

"Hi." she said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. "So what's the verdict?"

Dr. Anderson walked over to the left wall and grabbed the little stool and sat down. "Sorry that took so long. We had to run them three times until we were sure we were right. But, we figured out what's been going on with you the past couple of weeks." he said as he opened the file, read for a few seconds then looked back up at her. "You're pregnant." he said with that bluntness he had used with her and Sonic before, although there was a smile on his face as he told her the news.

Her mouth dropped open and for a second, she couldn't move or breathe as the words "You're pregnant" rang in her head. "A-are you sure?" she asked, her hands shaking.

He nodded and flipped over to another page. "Oh yes. We ran the tests three times. At first we ran a few simple tests to rule out any viruses, colds and anything life threatening. Then we found you had a high Inhibin count, which is produced by the fetal placenta. After that we ran tests for esterol, another placenta secreted hormone and found higher than usual levels along with an Alpha-retoprotein screen, a plasma protein test and a Mobian Chloronic-sondadotropin panel, all of which came back positive or with high levels as well as low iron, calcium and vitamin A, D and K levels."

Sally didn't say a word as Dr. Anderson continued to speak.

"Of course, I'd like to do an ultrasound to check for the presence of a fetus just to be sure the tests weren't false." he said.

Sally nodded and let an almost silent "Sure." escape her lips.

"All right. I'll be back in five minutes." Dr. Anderson said as he stood up.

"Wait." Sally said before he walked out the door. "Yes?" he said when he turned around.

Sally held her breath then let it out. "Nothing." she said.

A few minutes later

"Ready?" Dr. Anderson asked as he readied the ultrasound's wand over her exposed belly. "Mm-hmm." she said with a nod of the head. The nurse working the controls hit a switch and turned a few knobs, then Dr. Anderson squirted a small amount of that cold gel on her and she jumped. "Sorry." he said as he gently moved the wand around.

Even after hearing that she was pregnant, Sally still hadn't been able to wrap her mind around it. She couldn't. _How can I raise a baby without a father?_ she thought as Dr. Anderson continued to look for signs of life inside her. _He's not going to find anything._ she thought as he continued. _He can't._ Her eyes glued to the screen. "Increase the yield to 6." he told the nurse who was working the controls and he turned a knob on the panel.

_There's no-_ "Bingo." Dr. Anderson said, pointing to the screen. "You're pregnant."

"Congratulations." the nurse said with a smile.

"Wha..." Sally trailed off, looking at the screen. She didn't see anything that looked like a baby. "Where?"

Dr. Anderson pointed to a blob on the screen. "There. I'd say he's about four weeks along. Or she. We can test for the sex at a later date, but..." he trailed off as he wiped the gel off her stomach with a towel. "that's looks like the reason you've been having all that sickness and stomach pain lately." Dr. Anderson rolled up the wand and hung it on the machine as the nurse got up and pushed it out of the room.

Sally barely heard anything he said as she was still struggling to accept this new information. "Have you been eating well?" Dr. Anderson asked.

Sally barely heard him but she shook her head no in response. _How do I raise a child without a father?_ she thought as Dr. Anderson continued.

He shook his head. "If it wasn't for the baby, not eating enough foods that keep your iron count up could cause the sudden pain you've been having. The fetus does absorb a lot of the nutrients the mother takes in so it's a good idea to eat foods that have extra iron and protein. You should be eating..."

_This can't be right. I'm not pregnant. I'm not even showing for God's sake._ she thought as her mind raced with questions, her face emotionless.

"...other than that, that's about all I can do for you for now. I'll go ahead and get your discharge papers ready." he said, then left the room.

He was back in less than five minutes, holding the yellow discharge orders in his hand. "Well, you're free to go now. I want you to take it easy for the next few days, nothing too strenuous. In case you start feeling sick, you can get some of those alkaline seltzer tablets and crackers, those should ease your symptoms. I've also written down a list of foods I want you to eat at least three times a week."

He jotted down something quickly on a pad and ripped the page off, handing it to her. "And just in case, I've written you a prescription for some Pink Bismuth and Cloratine; it's great for nausea."

Sally took the prescription and stuck it in her purse and nodded. "I'm also going to set you up an appointment at my office in two weeks. I'll have my office give you a call. Last thing to do," Dr. Anderson said as he reached over to the dispenser on the wall and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and slipped them on. "is get the I.V. out of you."

He peeled the protective film that held it in place and with little resistance, the tube came out and he applied a cotton pad to the wound and tape to hold it in place.

"Thank you." she said as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed the spot on her hand lightly. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks." Dr. Anderson said and pulled the curtain around the bed closed. As she began to take off the thin gown, Sally peeled the little electrode pads off her body which wasn't pleasant and tossed them into the trash, then grabbed her phone from the bedside table and headed toward the nurses station.

As she made her way down the deserted hall, she still couldn't accept what Dr. Anderson had told her. _Maybe he was wrong._ Sally thought as she walked passed the nurses station and out the door. _Tests can be wrong. Besides, he didn't look too sure himself._ she thought as she walked toward the parking lot. _Yeah. The tests were wrong._ As she reached the edge of the lot, she looked around and remembered her car was still in Metropolis. Letting out a long sigh, she turned around and headed back to the front entrance. She thought about calling Tails or Cream for a ride, but killed the idea almost immediately. _No. They don't even know I'm here and it wasn't that serious. No need to worry them with something like this._ she thought as she walked toward the front desk where a security guard was working. "Hi." he said, a smile on his face. "Can I help you?"

"Hi." Sally replied, leaning against the desk which came up to her chest. "You wouldn't happen to know the number for a cab, would you? My car isn't here and I can't get anyone to give me a ride."

"Just a second." the guard said. He opened one of the drawers of the desk and plucked a small business card up and handed it to her. "Here you go." he said with a smile.

"Thanks." Sally said and turned around and headed back outside. Once outside, she took her phone out and dialed the number.

"First Street Cab." A man's voice said.

"Hi, can I get a pickup from Station Square General?" she asked.

There was a short silence, then he spoke. "Next cab I have'll be there in fifteen. That OK?"

"That's fine. Thanks." she said and hung up.

While she waited for the cab, she could still see the image on the ultrasound in her mind and laughed. She was looking at the same thing as Dr. Anderson had and she saw a lot of black and white static, but nothing that resembled a baby. _Pregnant. _*heh* she thought, letting out an audible laugh. _I'll go get my car, pick up a pregnancy test and get this whole thing straightened out._ As the cab pulled up to the front and parked, she walked over to it and climbed in. *heh* _Pregnant. This should give everyone a laugh._

"Where to ma'am?" the driver asked, his body turned halfway toward her.

"Metropolis. Wilson street."

He didn't say anything for a second, then nodded his head. "You got it." he said and turned around and flicked the meter on and pulled out of the parking lot.


End file.
